Dandy and friends explore the fall of the Ramen Empire
Space Dandy is a dandy guy in space. This is his story. This blog series will cover the entire run of Space Dandy, one of my favorite shows of all time. I’ve seen the show before but will only cover up to the current episode, so newcomers can follow along. Check back every Sunday to see the tales of the Dandy, QT, and Meow. This week I’m writing about “The Search for the Phantom Space Ramen, Baby”
You can sort of tell that Space Dandy is trying to find it’s footing, it manages to lay down some important details though. Mainly we find out how the alien registration works, and it’s kind of messed up. Captured aliens that aren’t new species are launched into space. We also get the introduction of Scarlet, alien evaluator and a badass who can beat up multiple members of the Gogol Empire. Speaking of the Gogol Empire, I thought this was something that wasn't hinted to until much later, but in episode 2 we already get some obvious Gogol = Google moments. I know I didn't make the connection until way later, but it's funny going back and realizing it's right there. GOGOL STREETVIEW.
I like the dynamic early on where you can't really tell if Dandy and crew are smarter than they seem or if the Gogol Empire is dumb, or maybe everyone is dumb. Meow is giving away their location via social media while the Gogol Empire is stumped to their location before Bea finds Meow through his account. The majority of the episode focuses on a search for the Phantom Ramen. Ramen so good it's out of this world, they find it through a wormhole, and it's being sold by an alien living for 10,000 years. While finding out he had to leave his biker gang because he burned his lady to death while trying to light her cigarette was sort of funny, overall it's just sort of there.
Poor Meow though, he takes Dandy's secret ramen from his stash only to lose out on trying the phantom ramen because they need to try and get back to the wormhole. Overall though this episode is just okay with a couple of good moments. It'll get better.
We begin a new journey with three idiots/geniuses/heroes.
Space Dandy is a dandy guy in space. This is his story. This blog series will cover the entire run of Space Dandy, one of my favorite shows of all time. Check back every Sunday to see the tales of the Dandy, QT, and Meow.
I decided to write about Space Dandy shortly after the original run finished. From the initial trailer, I was hooked, and hoped the show would be awesome. Turns out it was. It’s definitely my favorite anime of all time aside from FLCL. So I decided to write another blog series like the one I did with EVA, except this one is a little different. Obviously I’ve seen the show before so there’s that. I don’t remember much of the details so I’m not going to spoil ahead, so if you haven’t seen the show you can keep up here. Also the first run through I watched the subbed version. This time I’m watching the dub version. I purposefully didn’t watch the show over the last year just so I could watch the dub and have it feel somewhat fresh, and not compare the two all the time. With all of that background stuff out of the way. Let’s talk about the first episode: “Live With the Flow, Baby”
This episode coves a lot in a short time, but I think one of the things that initially hooked me was Dandy’s speech in the beginning about asses being superior to boobs. Instant connection there. And already I wonder about the conversations Dandy and a certain chairman in another series would have. Dandy and his robot friend QT are alien hunters, but Dandy wants to go to Boobies, a “Breastaurant.” I’m not going to make many sub/dub comparisons, but I am probably going to talk about the narrator each time because he is clearly being played differently than in the sub. His half-assed intro near the beginning was pretty funny.
So we get introduced to all of the characters with great stuff that lets you know who they are, Dandy prefers to go to Boobies instead of working, QT is outdated and even uses an physical alien guide because of it, Meow takes a bunch of creepshots of the waitresses at Boobies, Dr Gel and Bea are hunting for Dandy hinting at his importance. Dandy’s talent or luck is pretty impressive too, based on his terrible aim somehow manages to capture Meow and later on saves them from an alien by starting this food chain effect of summoning bigger and bigger aliens. (Neat gag by having the giant robot give the thumbs up T2 style as it was being devoured by a slime monster).
I think the biggest takeaway from the first episode is that these three are idiots. QT has an excuse because he is outdated (but somehow manages to break the fourth wall). Dandy pulls on a damn string warping space and time, and Meow knows nothing about the world. But they are charming idiots. Watching Meow just laugh at Dandy struggle the entire time against the aliens is pretty good. It’s just a shame that they all died at the end of the episode. A fact that the narrator states with a shrug in his voice. There’s way too much to write about here, but it’s a pretty great starting episode. Next time on Space Dandy, ramen, ramen, and more ramen.
I haven't wrote in awhile. I was planning to write some kind of recurring anime blog but classes started again and I've been busy watching puroresu and wanting to be a real rock n' roller. Anyway, I'm trying to watch a lot of this season's anime. I might write about them, I don't know. Here's a quick update of what I'm watching. The shows here are listed in no particular order, and the descriptions are brief. But hey, here it is.
Death Parade- A ridiculously catchy opening that is bullshit. This show is about people being miserable and competitive to the death. Two folks have to play a random game with their lives on the line. The first episodes dealt with newlyweds playing darts. The first episode left a bunch of unanswered questions but the second episode went a little bit too far and answered all of them with the touch of a hammer. The premise seems neat (I loved Death Billiards, which is the foundation for this), but it'll be interesting to see how this goes.
Stardust Crusaders- Jojo is always cool. I already know what's going to happen but it'll be awesome seeing some fights brought to life. Jotaro goes from one of the worst Jojos to one of the best over this part. You already know whether you're on board with this one.
Rolling Girls- The studio behind Attack on Titan is creating this gorgeous anime with great battle scenes and even better visual gags. I really hope this show stays good. I don't want it to suffer the same fate as Kill la Kill. A show that started amazing and then got to close to the sun. There's a dude in a crocodile mask, he's pretty cool.
Assassination Classroom- This show is goofy and charming. Since they aren't doing any more of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei this fills that spot for me. I love Koro Sensei's design. His dumb goofball face.
Ace of the Diamond- I love my baseball anime. It's between season, so things might be a bit boring. Also, Seido is going to suuuuuuuck. They lost all those third-years, there's no way they can improve in such a short amount of time. Maybe if they went to America and did a death march to Vegas....nah.
In conclusion, I'm not watching as much as I thought. I plan to start Maria and Samurai Warriors, and maybe another couple of shows, not sure yet. Food porn anime doesn't appeal to me and the friends who have recommended Yuri Bear to me aren't my friends anymore. It's a pretty good season.
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA (Final Thoughts)
Goodbye. It was fun.
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA was a blog where I talked about the original 26 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion (and the End of Evangelion). I wrote every day for the last two and a half weeks. I had a lot of fun. I started to go into my thoughts on the series in general and The End of Evangelion in my last blog, but that was running long so I decided to spin it off into it's own thing.
I'm writing this shortly after I wrapped up my blog on End of Evangelion, and my mind is a mess. I can't really say I enjoyed my time with the End of Evangelion's second half, but...yeah.
Part of me wants to read everything I can about Evangelion, try to bring some clarity to this mess I have in my head. But another part of me is fine with walking away. After watching the original 25 and 26, I had the same feeling. I could have stopped there and have been happy. I thought it ended well enough. The End of Evangelion is a step towards the insanity, one that is way harder to walk away from.
I don't know, if I had watched this as a kid I would have probably wanted to know more, and dig deeper. But I don't really feel that. I don't think it's a bad thing to enjoy something without completely understanding everything around it. That is why magic shows are fun even if you don't know how it works.
So what did I really think about Evangelion? I was entertained, I was fucking entertained and I love Evangelion for having great characters and a plot that manages to stay clear for the majority of it. The first half of the show was a solid foundation, and when the show decided to go off the deep end I was right there with them. The show spends a lot of time on everybody, yet the pace never suffers for it. It's an overall strong cast.
Then there's the issue of me taking this whole show in 2 and a half weeks. I think writing each time gave me a little bit of room to absorb a little bit, but overall, that is a very short amount of time to watch any 26 episode show, much less one as crazy as Evangelion.
Maybe after awhile I'll want to rewatch the series and research more, but a quick glance shows the road there being a long spiraling path into darkness. I'm happy with leaving it here for now. As I said in a previous blog, this is Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA, not Understanding or Solving them. I'm happy with that, it was still a fun time. So Neon Genesis Evangelion, all I can say to you right now is...goodbye.
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA (The End of Evangelion)
Yeah...that's an ending all right.
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA is a blog where I talk about watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. I’ll be watching an episode (or more) a day and writing about it. Today I wrap things up and talk about The End of Evangelion.
Boy, this was a fucking journey. To get ready for this I watched Death, the fancy recap that's crazy in its own right. It filled in enough of the stuff I missed from watching the original episodes. Like Adam being in Gendo's hand, stuff like that. Death was pretty cool, I like how it recapped it out of order. The first part of EoE was pretty awesome, some of the coolest stuff in the series. The second part...fucking Gainax. Even before I watched the show, I've always thought that the general consensus was that both EoE and the original ending are both pieces of one greater ending, I still believe that, but 25 and 26 are pretty much a huge sidetrack in one part of the show, which I'll get to talking about.
We start with Shinji who is still despondent over killing Kaworu he goes and begs a still comatose Asuka to help him. After shaking her he accidentally reveals her bare chest and panties and has to rub one out. He feels disgusted by this, but come on Shinji, what are you STUPID? I personally laughed at this scene. Evangelion is crazy, but there at least seemed to be a reason behind most of this crazy. This scene just seemd out of place.
Since NERV has succeeded in destroying all of the Angels, the committee has decided that enough is enough and starts trying to dismember them from the inside out, trying to hack the MAGI with the other MAGI all over the world. Luckily they manage to convince Ritsuko to help prevent the hacking with something 666. I appreciated the use of the number. With the MAGI safe, the committee decides that they really mean business and the army starts an invasion of NERV.
Before I get there, I should mention that there were some voice changes that threw me off in Death and EoE. I know Hyuga and Fuyutsuki's VA's were different, which was a huge disappointment because I loved Fuyutsuki in the series. He just doesn't seem as good here. Some other stuff may have been rerecordings, but I definitely noticed Gendo being off during Death. Minor in the grand scheme of things I guess, but it still bugged me.
The invasion of NERV is great, with the defense force using everything they can to wipe them out. Shinji becomes completely insufferable as everyone dies around NERV, but I guess that's expected after killing Kaworu. Misato manages to save Asuka by having them launch her into a lake (now that scene from 25/26 makes sense) and she personally goes and saves Shinji from being executed by soldiers. A little bit cheesy and the tone still feels different than the rest of the series, but Misato gunning down the three guys was cool. They proceed to go deeper to get Shinji to Unit 01, but Misato gets shot along the way. After trying to talk some sense into Shinji one last time, she kisses him and gives her the cross she wore. As Shinji descends in the elevator she succumbs from her wound and dies, not before asking Kaji if she was right. I think the chaos had something to do with it, but I feel like Misato's ending was kind of weak.
I'm willing to overlook that because Asuka finally snaps out of the haze she was in and kicks everyone's ass. The whole thing about her AT field being her mother's love was pretty awesome, and seeing her wipe out the majority of the defense force was great. The one scene with her throwing a goddamn battleship was so cool. The committee decides to send in the rest of the Evangelion units from all of the world, and Asuka manages to beat all of them too. As she's about to finish off the last two, the Lance of Longinus returns and pierces her defense and impales her Eva's head, seemingly causing her to lose her eye.
Shinji is still despairing when Unit 01 comes to life and breaks through the defense system. But Shinji is too late, Asuka's Eva has been impaled by spears from the other Evangelion units (who have regenerated), and has been completely torn apart. And that's the end of part one.
Part Two
Gendo tries to merge with Rei to start the Third Impact, but for the first time ever Rei rejects him, before this, Ritsuko tries one more time to get her revenge on Gendo. She attempts to shoot him (and I guess blow up HQ with that device), but one of the MAGI refuses the order, and Gendo ends up gunning her down.
We then get a ton of ridiculous nonsense with the Evangelion and Unit 01 merging together and the Angel imprisoned in NERV floating up and turning into Rei. In addition to this, we get the hilarious visual of everyone dead and alive on the ground being turned into orange juice. This is the instrumentality mentioned so much in the original ending, but man, that visual is pretty dumb. I guess everyone seemed to die happy as they were going at least (if they weren't already dead). Gendo's apology to Shinji was good, but like Misato's death, a mere drop of water in the ocean of insanity going on around it.
We then get some more internal conflict stuff with Shinji. This is where the last two episodes play in, where Shinji accepted the Instrumentality and doomed everyone else. Shinji seems to be going down the same path again but after talking to Rei, Kaworu and Yui, he decides against Instrumentality, and everything falls apart. There are some great visuals, but yeah, fucking crazy town.
Shinji wakes up on the beach, next to Asuka, who has her eye bandaged, and since there's no one else there, Shinji probably did that I would guess. In addition he has nailed Misato's cross to a grave marker, a nice way to say all of this has ended. Shinji then tries to strangle Asuka because sure, why the hell not. Asuka then touches Shinji's cheek and he breaks down crying. The last line is Asuka saying "How disgusting" and Fin.
That's the end of the blog, I'll definitely have a summary of my thoughts on the whole series later on today, but as far as the End of Evangelion goes, there's just too much to process right now. I think I liked it though.
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA (TV Finale, Episodes 25 and 26)
Congratulations!
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA is a blog where I talk about watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. I’ll be watching an episode a day and writing about it. For those of you who have read, responded, reblogged, retweeted, and asked questions. Thanks! I know it hasn't been the most consistent blog, but I'm glad I was able to write about each episode on the way there. I'll probably do this again. Hopefully.
In this edition, I’ll be talking about the end of Evangelion, not to be confused with The End of Evangelion. That's coming, don't worry.
So, we leave off after Shinji kills Kaworu, the last Angel. He is still tortured by his decision, because despite being an Angel, he was a person too. And then from here on out we completely go off the fucking rails. Shinji ends up in a purgatory of sorts in his mind all alone. He his haunted by Unit 01, caught in its grasp. From there he answers the reason why he pilots EVA, because people like him. Asuka appears and calls him out on it, only for Rei to call her out on it because she does the same thing. I should not that most of what we are seeing is from previous episodes.
Now we move on to Asuka, who is in Unit 02 and underwater for whatever reason. She's still feeling worthless, so let's move on to Rei.
Rei gets to have an insane conversation with herself, about how she is a vessel with no real soul of her own. But she persists that her relationships and interactions with others make her have her own soul. She comes to the realization that she wants to die and knows that once her purpose is fulfilled she can return to nothingness. Gendo appears in her head(?) and says that this is the day she was made for, and then the world ended.
Through cue cards we learn that the instrumentality has begun. We see glimpses of a dead Misato and Ritsuko. Misato questions instrumentality, and now we get a flashback to her life. Young Misato wants to be good so her father will leave her alone. But eventually she hated that and wanted to be looked down upon, not seen as a "good girl." In her head (I'm assuming all of these conversations are inner dialogues from here on out). She then tries to convince herself of why she slept with Kaji. She admits that she is unhappy and her loneliness is catching up to her. Then we move back to Asuka.
Flashback to kid Asuka wanting to live alone, and overhearing her father and her future stepmother talking about how she doesn't like her. Her stepmother mentions that she can stop being her mother at anytime. Then we hear Asuka's real mom talking about wanting Asuka to die with her (when she eventually hangs her self). It disgusts Asuka because she looked happy in death. Asuka doesn't want to die, and she doesn't want to be alone.
We then cut to a stage, which is an interpretation of the Instumentality. With Shinji, Asuka, and Misato on the stage, everyone else talks to Shinji about how the reality is based on what he wished for. And he wished for death and the end over everything. Despite his thoughts that he had no choice in the matter, this is the world he wanted. Something comfortable for him, but at the cost of everyone else. This is the end of 25.
I have no idea what to make of this, it's too much to process in such a short time, so I just went ahead and went on to episode 26.
We start 26 with everyone's mind being the same. Everyone fearing something and missing something basic. That is why they must become one, and this is what instrumentality is. The only way to live. People wonder why they exist, whether they are happy, whether people are happy that they are alive, and why they run away, or why they mustn't run away (which is a great callback, I loved that). Shinji continues to fight the spectres in his mind. We get more of Shinji believing he is worthless juxtaposed against photgraphs, yep!
We go back to why they pilot the EVAs, to justify their existence, because they have no other value. The shot with Shinji holding the phone is pretty great for comedic purposes, but more of the same. How because Shinji hates himself no one respects him. We eventually lead back to Shinji thinking he has no value outside the EVA, which means his EVA is his identity, and without it he is nothing.
All three pilots are fighting against instrumentality it seems, and their true fears. Or maybe it's just Shinji, we're getting lost here. The conversation turns back to everyone trying to find value in their lives, and then we get courtroom sketches of everyone.
We already have had a lot of recycled stuff, but now everything is being drawn really fast, like it's a storyboard instead of a real show. Whether intentional or not (aka budget reasons), it's pretty jarring and fits well. We then talk about the perfect world of freedom, with nothing in it. Absolutely nothing. We then learn that with a restriction, we lose freedom, but gain more peace of mind because there is less to worry about. The same ideas are recycled over and over, but we go back to the idea that you are shaped by the people we are surrounded by, and then something amazing happens.
We get a look of an alternate timeline. Asuka and Shinji are childhood friends, Yui and Gendo are still together as a happy sitcom couple, and they are late for school. The back and forth between Asuka and Shinji is hilarious. Shinji's line of "I hope she's got a great butt" cracked me up. Rei with toast in her mouth is running to school too and Shinji and her collide, naturally. This whole section is amazing and has me completely on board with this direction. Misato is the teacher and her introduction for Rei is great. I can't say enough about this section. Probably some of the best stuff in the series.
Back to the stage, Shinji realizes that this is another possibility and that the truth, his reality can be changed completely based on what he thinks. He starts to realize that he's not so worthless after all. He then realizes that live is worth living, and he breaks free from the stage he is in. Everyone congratulates him, and Shinji is truly happy, and...that's it.
I can understand why people hate that ending, but I thought it was great. I know I have an unfair advantage because I knew something weird was happening, even if I didn't know what it was. I liked it. I enjoyed seeing the characters go insane trying to figure out what really makes them tick. Granted, once the same stuff kept happening on 26 it was starting to lose me, then we get that amazing school sequence. Really, I had no idea that was coming, and it was so great. The whole "Congratulations" bit is really dumb, still really dumb, even knowing the context, but at the end we get Shinji smiling which is a perfect way to end it. If that was all of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the show just ended like that, I'd be fine with it. A bit disappointed about some loose ends, but I'd still like it (Damn you Gainax).
That being said, that's not all there is. There is one more thing to discuss. The End of Evangelion. I know I had planned to do it on New Year's Eve, but that's no fun. So the blog for EoE will be going up tomorrow. See you then!
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA (Episode 24)
I had a Christmas EVA joke set up but I threw it out. I threw out everything.
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA is a blog where I talk about watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. I’ll be watching an episode a day and writing about it. In this edition, I'll be talking about the 5th child, the last Angel, and I try to grasp the true meaning of this show.
We start off with more Asuka flashbacks, where she gets selected to be an EVA pilot. She is excited and believes that will finally make her mother proud, only to find her dead. Back in the present day we see Asuka in the bathtub of an abandoned house (her old house maybe?), saying she has nothing left to live for. Before that escalates, a NERV agent finds her and takes her into custody.
Back at HQ, Misato mentions the 5th child arriving after they recieve the call about Asuka. In the interrogation room, Gendo asks Ritsuko why she destroyed the dummy system, only for her to respond that she was destroying Rei. She also mentions that yes, her and Gendo did sleep together (maybe not entirely willing at first) and that he couldn't be disappointed in her because he never saw anything in her in the first place. Not really the best way to try and follow your mother's footsteps Ritsuko.
Shinji comments about how he's alone again. He can't talk to Rei because of the events of the last episode, and he has no idea where Asuka is. Tokyo-3 is apparently destroyed because all of his friends have left, which really threw me off. I'm guessing a combination of Asuka shooting up the city in her last fight and Rei's self destruction did it. The lake definitely reminds me of the location of the second impact. Oh, and this new guy is just singing here, no big deal.
The new person is Kaworu Nagisa, the 5th child, and Shinji makes quick friends with him. All records were wiped, but he was born on the day of the Second Impact. Misato gets help from the glasses NERV guy and finds out where Ritsuko is being held.
In the first sync test, Kaworu has an insanely high sync ratio even before the EVA is adjusted for him. After that he meets Rei and comments that they are the same. So...they are both weird lab experiments? Hmm...
It seems that nobody knows who the hell Kaworu is, but that doesn't keep Shinji for waiting for him after the test and going to the shower together. Kaworu sees right through Shinji's fear of getting close to people and mentions that man cannot escape loneliness because he is always alone, and takes his hand. Then asks if they are going to bed together and how he loves him. This show...
The committee has a meeting and talks about how they must stop Gendo. Unfortunately for them, Gendo is always ahead, even revealing that the lance being lost in space was part of his plan.
Shinji and Kaworu talk about the past, and Shinji is opening up for bizarre reasons. Kaworu even says that he feels like he was born to meet him. Misato finds out that the 5th child can change his sync ratio at will. She finds Ritsuko and asks who the hell the 5th child is. The answer? It's the next Angel. That completely floored me, but looking back makes a lot of sense. The way he talked just seemed, odd. Sort of like people who travel to a different country.
Literally seconds hafter that reveal, Kaworu activates Unit 02 remotely and starts tunneling towards Terminal Dogma, aka where the Angel is being kept underneath. Shinji is obviously pissed about this, and even takes a shot at his father at the same time. He explains that because Unit 02 has no pilot (because Asuka is mentally broken), he was able to take it over. Misato has them ready to self-destruct NERV if Shinji fails.
Kaworu then breaches "Heaven's Door" which is a fantastic name for where they keep the Angel. But another AT field shows up to everyone's shock, and it's revealed to be...Rei? Unit 01 defeats Unit 02 and grabs Kaworu. Kaworu tells Shinji to kill him or else everything will be destroyed, saying Shinji should not be the one to die. After a long, long, loooooong time (I thought it froze for a bit, even though the music was still going), Shinji kills Kaworu, losing another friend.
Misato and Shinji talk afterwards. Shinji said he never felt so much kindness as he did from Kaworu, and how he should have survived. Misato says that because he didn't have the will to live, he didn't deserve it, and that survival isn't a mistake.
What an episode, again, a LOT happens, and I'm barely hanging on as far as what's going on. Having the 5th child be an Angel sent by the committee is an awesome yet completely evil way to try and take out Gendo. But in the end, it seems that the time spent with Shinji distracted the Angel from its purpose. We're down to the last two episodes and I have no idea what the hell to expect, I know it's going to be crazy.
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA (Episode 23)
Rei...
Encountering the Deep Mysteries of EVA is a blog where I talk about watching Neon Genesis Evangelion. I’ll be watching an episode a day and writing about it. Today I'll talk about Rei, Rei, Rei, and Ritsuko's fall into despair.
We start with Misato listening to Kaji's last message again, locking herself away from everyone. Asuka is also blocking people off, skipping school and staying at Hikari's house. Both still recovering from their past tramuas. Asuka is feeling more hatred towards everyone.
Gendo is being admonished by the committee when the next Angel attacks. Unit 00 is the lead on attack, Unit 01 is still frozen, and Unit 02 is forced to fight even though Asuka is in no condition to do so. Rei gets caught off guard by the angel (a light rope looking thing), and the Angel starts merging with Rei. Asuka is sent out to help, but her sync ratio is under 10 percent and she is completely useless in battle. Rei briefly communicates with the Angel and is told that she is truly lonely. Gendo has Unit 01 unfroze to save Rei, which only causes further pain to Asuka. But before Shinji can intervene, Rei causes her EVA to self-destruct to destroy the Angel, her last vision is of Gendo. They send a rescue team, but find the plug with no survivor inside. All evidence is hidden. This was a very powerful moment which caught me off guard, but EVA doesn't wait to mourn, it continues the death march.
Misato tries to talk to Shinji, who can't cry despite grieving. Misato tries to take his hand but he pushes her away. She locks herself away in her office when...hold up, Rei's alive?
Shinji meets her at the hospital, but that meeting goes off rails when she says that she is the third one. This clears up why Ritsuko's mother seemed to kill the child Rei. Because she did. Seele interrogates Ritsuko to be interrogated instead of Rei, which seems to have some deeper meaning.
Misato is in her office and reveals that the capsule she received from Kaji is actually a microchip with information. The truth he mentions in his last message.
Shinji gets a call from Ritsuko to meet at NERV, but Misato intercepts them, and everyone gets to find out some of the truth. They discover the EVA graveyard, where the many failures were left (and also where Yui lost her life). They also find where Rei was "created." Which leads to the messed up notion that Gendo sacrificed Yui to create Rei. Speaking of Rei, Ritsuko reveals the empty Rei clones, without the "soul" so to speak. It is also revealed that Evangelions have human souls powering them. Ritsuko then kills all of the husks in a horrifying display. Like her mother, Ritsuko finds out that Gendo was just using her.
So we learned a lot here. Rei is a clone of Yui, mass produced with one "soul" for the main body. And Gendo probably killed Yui to create Rei. The goal seems to be to revive Adam, but to what end? Asuka is still completely broken, and Shinji is getting near that point if he isn't already. Three episodes to go.
