Neon Genesis Evangelion/Fridge

Fridge Brilliance

 * The Evangelion units are wearing restraints that obviously restrict movement right? Then they must be extremely tight and constricting. It's no wonder then, that when an Evangelion gets wounded, High-Pressure Blood comes spurting out. The tight restraints are increasing blood pressure!
 * Watching the series and movies multiple times can reveal certain details and make confusing scenes more understandable. An easily missed one is the final line in The End of Evangelion:.
 * Though the original line was actually very different, and that they had the voice actor change the line because they had trouble with its execution.
 * In the foreground during death scene is the  was riding in her first appearance.
 * Episode 22: Asuka is pissed at Rei, but doesn't snap until Rei states that she would kill herself if commanded to. ...
 * Viewers Are Geniuses plot points: in Jewish tradition, the number 18 signifies life. Mankind, the eighteenth Angel, is the one that lives in the end.
 * Shinji is the epitome of meek. He inherits the earth.
 * SEELE (which is German for "soul") is a word prominently mentioned in a certain significant musical work:.
 * Also in the lyrics: "Your magic binds together again/what custom strictly parted/All men become brothers/where your gentle wing rests." Hmmmmm. "Be embraced, millions! This kiss for the whole world!" ...This is disturbingly apropos.
 * I swear to you, this managed to escape me until the third runthrough of the series: All AT Fields (barring Iruel's), are octagonal. They also happen to be used to halt an attack against them. Now... what else do we know of that is octagonal and calls for an approaching object to arrest its movement?... Or "stop", if you will?
 * Not in Japan. They’re triangular there.
 * When using the mortar to test Ramiel's defenses, if you watch the scene where Misato, Ritsuko, et al are analyzing the results of testing, they freeze-frame footage showing that Ramiel's AT field is hexagonal.
 * This is commonly attributed to animation error. Episode 6 is one of those episodes, along with Episode 4 and others, that are animated by the "B" team.
 * During the sequence where Arael conjures multiple Asukas while probing Asuka's memories, each Asuka is voiced by a different actress, to show that what Arael's conjurations are saying are both bizarre and unsettlingly wrong. What brings this into fridge brilliance is that each successive voice actress is actually trying to imitate Asuka's VA's style of speech, almost as if Arael is trying to make his conjurations as close to the real thing as he can.
 * Unfortunately, the English dub completely ruined this scene by only using Asuka's VA for this scene. So instead of Asuka being assaulted by imitations of herself, it's just her repeating the same few lines over and over and breaking down because... she doesn't like the sound of her own voice?
 * A lot of people hate hearing recorded playback of their own voice. It wouldn't sound strange to us as the audience, but imagine you're hearing multiple recordings of your voice playing at once. That would be utterly maddening.
 * A number of people have suggested that if NERV fulfilled its stated function rather than its actual one, whoever controlled the EVA units could conquer the world. This is even used as a justification for the UN invasion. This seems to be pitching it more than a little high: without a power cable connection, the EVA can't operate long enough to be relevant.
 * For that matter, who didn't demand at a least a 15-minute operational period on the basic EVA units without a cable? The moment somebody starts tossing around explosions the cable is going to go. Any military person worth their salt would have realized the danger of stray shrapnel ending the world.
 * This might be Fridge Brilliance: the EVAs are essentially gods. Which means if they are allowed to run rampant, they would be capable of killing EVERYONE. Hence, the power stops them being allowed to go free for too long. This is demonstrated in the episode where we see the first Contact Experiment in which Rei was injured.
 * This idea's kinda subverted by the fact that Evas are shown going out of control even AFTER their batteries are out. The battery limit is basically to make people feel safe. If the pilot's will is strong enough, they are no longer bound by it.
 * More to the point, it becomes fairly clear later in the series that only the control systems of the Evangelion require external power. It's just that the entry plug is placed in such a way as to replace most of the Evangelion nervous system. If it loses power, the Evangelion is essentially paralyzed. An awakened Evangelion, however, seems to be able to get around this by either powering the entry plug itself, or brute-forcing the nerve connections through the dead space somehow.
 * The original ending is about . It's gets better when you realize that Shinji's wimpy-ness is a common complaint about this show.
 * NERV's motto is a quote from the poem 'Pippa Passes': "God's in His heaven, all's right with the world". Consider this: when its core is . How right is the world now?
 * Ah, but in the original poem, this phrase was used ironically. All is not right in the world in the poem. It's the same for NERV, mainly because everyone is living in a Crapsack World.
 * This one works for the Rebuild movies as well, but think about this: when Shinji sees (and then falls on) Rei while she's naked, she isn't fazed at all. But then later in the series, you see that Gendo talks with her while she's in the LCL tube, naked and floating. Presumably, she's been doing this since she was young, so she grew up without a sense of shame.
 * Just like Adam and Eve before, they ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And if we remember that Rei, this only makes it more symbolic, being as did not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and thus also had no sense of shame. Fridge Brilliance at its finest.
 * Now for the allegations about Shamshel and Leliel: note their shapes and manner of death. Shamshel is, let's be honest here, a giant penis, and dies when Shinji, another male, stabs him in the Core (i.e. castrates him). Leliel is somewhat more subtle in shape, more blatant in death: she is a black hole in the ground, ending at a mostly zebra-striped ball in the sky (i.e. a womb). She dies when Shinji, here a child, rips his way out of her in a horrifying parody of c-section. Again, he is the Angel of Day, she is the Angel of Night. Their forms and manner of death are complementary, something most people miss because of the episode gap, which only exists because Israfel couldn't resist the Shout-Out.
 * Another thing to keep in mind is that, in Judeo-Christian mythology, after Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden God sent down an angel to guard the entrance to the garden and to kill anyone who tried to enter. That angel was named Shamshel and took the form of a flaming sword. Of course, this means that Shamshel is a weapon and you all have dirty minds... Sickos.
 * Kaworu calls the humans "Lilim", which are considered to be the daughters of Lilith, a demon. Do the math.
 * For those of you (such as myself) who take a while to grasp the above, the daughters of Lilith in regular mythology are the demon race. Now, in Neon Genesis Evangelion, it's humans. Now the math is little clearer.
 * Furthermore, in the Alphabet of ben Sirach, the oldest known text dealing with marriage of Lilith and Adam, Lilith's punishment for disobeying God is that hundreds of her children would have to die every day. Now compare the mass births and deaths of Lilith's children in Evangelion to the children of Adam who appears to be unable to reproduce and could well be immortal until killed.
 * This may or may not have been intended by the writers, but... regarding the failed unit 00 test that resulted in Rei's injuries from the first episode, more specifically the seemingly out of character reaction Gendo has, that amount of concern and near panic are so unlike anything you ever see from him any other time. At first, you could think it's because he needs Rei to enact his version of Instrumentality, till you remember how easy it seems to be to replace her with a new clone when she does die. Then it hit me: Yui "died" during a test of unit 01, and more specifically while inside an entry plug, and Rei was more or less a clone of her. It was this near replication of the most tragic event of his life that broke Gendo out of normal stoicism and drove him to desperately try and rescue Rei.
 * It's simpler than that, really. It's heavily implied throughout the series that he sees Rei as a surrogate daughter (NOT a wife, as so many bad fanfic writers like to suppose). Wouldn't YOU react that way if your daughter were in danger? He keeps his reactions mostly buttoned-down in public, but occasionally he can't hold it in. As for his treatment of Shinji... he says in The End of Evangelion that he was trying to protect Shinji by keeping him at a distance. Hence the coldness.
 * Fridge Brilliance/Horror: "Komm Susser Tod". At first, it seems the song is out of place, then it hits you, depressed people who decides to commit suicide would feel suddenly happy. This song perfectly describes this image !
 * After reading the trope description for Scary Shiny Glasses for the umpteenth time, I suddenly realized a small piece of brilliance thanks to these statements: "Traditionally, one's eyes are an indicator of the soul... If you can't even see their eyes because of the Scary Shiny Glasses, beware... for these are individuals who deliberately wall themselves off from the people around them." Now on one obvious level, we know that describes Gendo. However, it becomes more brilliant when you take a look at the color of Gendo's glasses. The amber/orange tint to his eye-wear matches perfectly to the tinted light of an A.T. Field! In effect: both share the same colour, both are used to hide or separate one's "soul" from the world, and, as stated on Gendo's entry in that page: In the manga version, the readers - and implicitly Shinji - began to see Gendo's eyes behind his glasses more often as we learned more about him. Interestingly enough, he only begins to wear his tinted glasses after his old ones break while rescuing Rei. In other words, the only time he's shown to let his emotional guard down (as mentioned above), is when Rei is in danger (his glasses break). Afterwards, he becomes even more closed off from the world. These are all perfect analogies to Gendo's personal A.T. Field. Therefore, it can't be coincidence that the mindscrew-filled scene involving Gendo's "death" in The End of Evangelion show Gendo as the only one not being "tanged" (it's ambiguous whether he died or joined Instrumentality; use your own judgement there) and also gives one last focus to Gendo's glasses. In a way, this can be even used as a metaphor for additional Scary Shiny Glasses wearers in other series: They all close themselves off from other people emotionally by hiding their eyes... the windows to their souls. This is also often what many people do in Real Life: wearing sunglasses if they are shy, introverted or Not Good with People to avoid having people make eye-contact. Keep in mind that Gendo's shades have been around since the first episode, as was the colour of the A.T. Field. It only makes perfect sense upon understanding the whole "light of the soul" thing that Kaworu tells us, as well as knowing the ins-and-outs of the Scary Shiny Glasses trope, which is very popular in Japanese works. Anno, who developed Eva as a critique of social isolation, and as a deconstruction of anime tropes, undoubtedly knew all this... the clever bastard.
 * In The End of Evangelion, Shinji, and at the end of the film, he does it again . Most people assume he was just off rocker by then, but what if he the way it started?
 * And of course, the one everyone knows already. The last line in The End of Evangelion (Asuka saying "I feel sick"): does it mean "I'm sickened by you, Shinji" or does it mean "I am pregnant"?
 * It has been suggested by Asuka's voice actress, yes. However, I think things would precisely not have turned that bad if Shinji and Asuka had sex time ago.
 * Kaworu saying "I love you" to Shinji. Watched this one just after being explained by a catholic priest that "love" means "I want the best for you", while "I want to have you for me" is desire. Kaworu is the only one who can say "I love you" (Shinji told "I need you"), and he uses it perfectly.
 * Actually, Kaworu's love for Shinji is exactly the kind of love you'd expect from a creature called an angel.
 * Before the final scene of The End of Evangelion (and the series' episodes 25-26 that run concurrently with it), Shinji has sorted out all of his mental anguish. When he sees Asuka on the beach, he does the one thing he's been meaning to do to her for a long while. Since it's explicitly stated everyone went through their own Instrumentality inner dialogue, Asuka went through one too… and finally does the one thing she's been meaning to do to him for a long while.
 * Before the final scene of The End of Evangelion (and the series' episodes 25-26 that run concurrently with it), Shinji has sorted out all of his mental anguish. When he sees Asuka on the beach, he does the one thing he's been meaning to do to her for a long while. Since it's explicitly stated everyone went through their own Instrumentality inner dialogue, Asuka went through one too… and finally does the one thing she's been meaning to do to him for a long while.

Fridge Horror

 * Others have mentioned how horrifying it is to have reached Shinji's level of despair at age 14. ("Nobody needs me, so it's fine with me if everybody dies.") The real horror is that there are people with minds like that in real life. This troper was like that, and knew people like that.
 * The AT Field is the light of Kaworu's soul, the sacred place no one may invade. Yes, when an EVA cancels an Angel's AT Field, it's RAPING THE ANGEL'S SOUL!
 * EVAs don't need to violently cancel AT fields. Although violently attacking an AT field is done in the majority of times (with the visible light warping), including during combat with Kaworu, it can also be done when the angel and EVA want to, well, merge. This is evidenced when Armisael resisted violent attacks, but had no AT field effect to speak of when it tried to merge with Unit-00 or Unit-01. Since we never actually saw Kaworu's AT field breaking, but saw the consequences of it, this means that Kaworu let down, or synchronized, his AT field voluntarily. What's a common term for the feeling and urge to merge souls with another?.
 * Dummy Plugs contain . The Mass-produced EVAS in The Movie have Plugs with written on the side. EVA pilots and EVAs are synched so that the pilots feel everything their EVAs feel..
 * All the Angels mount offensives on NERV hoping to infiltrate the facility to its deepest layer..
 * EVAs are, . Now, did we ever hear about after the Unit-03 incident...?
 * . Talk about guilt trip fuel.
 * After she went insane, 's mother ended up completely not acknowledging the original as the person and instead doing it for a . This mother committed suicide and hung the replacement right along with her. In her mind, she was killing her kid and herself.
 * I'm pretty sure this is an actual plot point. Part of why Asuka is so messed up is because she heard her mother (speaking to the doll) saying "die with me, Asuka". Asuka feels guilty that she DIDN'T die with her mother.
 * Just how many people died when Unit-00 self-destructed to save Shinji? Were they all protected by the shelters or did they all get killed by the blast? The only mention we have of anyone other than the NERV crew surviving is Misato talking to Pen Pen about sending him to live Hikari, so for all we know Touji, Kensuke and all the rest could be dead.
 * I watched Evangelion recently, and they mention Toji and Kensuke moving after their homes (including Hikari's) being destroyed. So they're alive. I may have heard wrong, but they're mentioned on Episode 24. I hope that helps some.
 * The End of Evangelion: Yui's soul being . And I Must Scream is an understatement.
 * When you understand that EVAs are sentient beings with a soul which are trapped and imprisoned inside 'restraints' for use as weapons, ok. Disturbing, but you can live with it... and then you realize that all the pilots are synchronizing with the EVAs. As in they are matching neuronal responses to achieve the best reaction, and are, as a consequence, melding their minds into the EVAs. So you have the kids melding their minds with the EVAs to a point where they have so fully inter-twined their mental states, ego and identity into the EVA that they can't separate one from the other. An example? Shinji constantly screaming at Gendo "You used my hands to kill him!" when the dummy plug in Unit 01 destroyed Unit 03. Also, remember when Shinji lost it when he saw Asuka mutilated at The End of Evangelion? Yeah, it's not a nice way to view the world...
 * Also in The End of Evangelion, after, there doesn't appear to be any liquid left apart from . Humans need to drink and all...
 * Asuka playing with the doll in Rebuild 2.0. If you've seen the original series, you'll appreciate why this is so messed up.
 * The AT Field is "the light of [the] soul, a sacred territory in which no one may intrude." So every time an EVA penetrates an Angel's AT Field, it's effectively violating the Angel's soul. In fact, everyone has an AT Field. By merely touching someone else, you are penetrating his or her AT Field.
 * Incorrect. It's stated that for humans, the AT Field is just powerful enough to allow them to hold physical form. A touch isn't violating someone else's AT Field. It actually serves more as an EMOTIONAL barrier for humans. Harsh words and hate are more of a violation than physical contact in that context. Still... does that mean that Asuka's cruelty to Shinji was equal to Mind Rape?
 * Shinji is very weak willed, backs down to even the slightest insult, and when he was yelled at for disobeying orders in the first series, he tries to run away. He often yells "I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away. I MUSTN'T RUN AWAY!" when he should be afraid when he's facing a monster that wants to kill him. That and he thinks very little of himself, was willing to stay only for the needs of others, and says that he's mean, cowardly, dishonest, weak, sneaky and sissy. Sissy and weak? Perhaps. But none of the other words describe him. It makes you wonder just what kind of person raised Shinji for those past ten years.
 * Rei's obedience to Gendo is not due to loyalty: it's due to her being replaceable in the most literal sense possible. And he knows this. One could only wonder how far he took his leverage...
 * The ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion is so weird that you might not get it at first. But when you do....
 * Just how many people died when Unit-00 self-destructed to save Shinji? Were they all protected by the shelters or did they all get killed by the blast? The only mention we have of anyone other than the NERV crew surviving is Misato talking to Pen Pen about sending him to live Hikari, so for all we know Touji, Kensuke and all the rest could be dead. This is somewhat supported in Rebuild 2.0 when EVA-02's head comes flying into the bunker where Shinji is. There was a bunker right there in the combat zone. It was empty, but a) there's more, and b) how about the collateral from the N2 mine? Or the eva fight? Or the incipient Third Impact?
 * Asuka calling Rei a doll in the elevator. At this time, you may even agree. Then, you learn what dolls represent in Asuka's backstory.
 * So, she wasn't just calling her a mindless toy, she was calling her . Deep.
 * The entry plug/EVA relationship: once you figure out that, it's hard to avoid the idea that, by piloting an EVA, Shinji is living out a giant Oedipal metaphor. This becomes even more obvious when, during his introspective experiences, Shinji decides that he pilots an EVA because only piloting makes him feel needed.
 * Asuka was saved from her Mind Rape (a bit late mind you) by the Lance of Longinus. ?
 * Ever wondered why Rei never really develops emotionally after the initial signs of promise early on in the series? When she dies, we can presume the replacement Rei does not have those experiences, and is the earlier, emotionally null version. Shinji's small amount of success in getting through to her on a human level all comes to naught.
 * Shinji's decision to save Rei in Rebuild has a distributing implication, namely the fact that Shinji is ready to sacrifice the human race to be reunited with a woman whom he relies on emotionally. He has basically come to adopt his father's screwed world-view.
 * Shinji's decision to save Rei in Rebuild has a distributing implication, namely the fact that Shinji is ready to sacrifice the human race to be reunited with a woman whom he relies on emotionally. He has basically come to adopt his father's screwed world-view.

Fridge Logic

 * NERV cannot harm any angels aside from an N2 mine, before Shinji was introduced and EVAs had enough pilots. However, when the only thing that can hurt Ramiel is a rail gun powered from the city's generators, Shinji is the only one that can fire it. He doesn't do anything (no Hand Wave that dispels the AT Field) other than FIRE THE GUN. Is it just the will of the EVAs that kill the target (which may be feasible given the animating company), or the gun being a Rail Gun, which can penetrate due to being electromagnetic? If not, the episode could've saved some budget if cut, even though it was a Tear Jerker.
 * The reason that gun worked was because it used up enough energy to power a small nation. If the angel had been more mobile, it would have been useless to try again because it would have dodged, as it did the first time. In other words, Huge Power = Huge Energy requirement.
 * A small nation? Try all the energy in Japan.
 * Guess that would explain the Jet Alone project's goal: having a nuclear mecha able to hold the power of a city to take out the problems of the future. Turns out NERV had their own agenda, eh?
 * Jet Alone still would've been useless, since it took all the power of a NATION to create a single shot powerful enough to penetrate an AT Field... just like overwhelming force can cause a person's mental barriers to crumble.
 * This troper would just like to point out that Ramiel was stated to have one of the most powerful A.T. Fields of any Angel. Also, the primary reason the rifle was used was that Ramiel automatically targeted any hostile party within a certain radius with a highly accurate and destructive energy beam, making close combat virtually impossible. If every angel had such a strong A.T. Field, I doubt Unit-01 would've been able to tear through Sachiel's with its bear hands in Episode 1.
 * Unit-01 brought down Sachiel's AT-Field by eroding it using its own AT-Field, as is stated in the dialogue during that scene. The shot of it ripping the field apart with its hands was it tearing away the last shreds of the already-weakened field.
 * Also, wasn't it mentioned in-episode that Ramiel had to lower its AT-field in order to attack? Besides, it wasn't a rail gun. A rail gun uses a powerful electromagnetic field (by way of two rails, hence the name) to fire a metal projectile at speeds up to Mach 7. Shinji's gun fired Frickin' Laser Beams. Not a rail gun.