Neon Genesis Evangelion/Awesome: Difference between revisions

== Original animated series ==

* Gendo's [[Establishing Character Moment]] in Episode 1: When Shinji manages to move the Eva without even being inside it, and knocks an enormous piece of steel into the observation window. Gendo doesn't move, doesn't flinch, doesn't even blink as the steel rebar impacts less than a foot away from him, and just continues to stare triumphantly at Shinji.

** Berserker! Gives me nerdchills.

* In Episode 3, Shinji gets one when he just goes into batshit insane, [[Unstoppable Rage]] mode and fucking destroys an Angel against his orders.(Technically, he did it out of sheer terror. Doesn't make it any less awesome though.)

* Am I the only one with love for the [[Humongous Mecha|Jet Alone]] incident? It may just be a filler, but it's still one of Misato's finest moments. She climbs onto the back of basically a giant walking nuclear reactor, goes inside the heavily radiated core in nothing more than a light hazmat suit, and then when the computer fails she tries to ''physically push the giant control rods back into the reactor.'' And all without any moaning, just determination.

* Asuka and Shinji start with a combined one in Episode 8 of the original. Basically, Eva Unit-02 is jumping around on battleships and destroyers in order to plug itself in. Then, nearer the end of the fight with Gaghiel, Asuka's yelling at Shinji for being in her lap, calling him a pervert, etc. What does Shinji do in response? He '''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|ignores her and keeps fighting the Angel]]'''. That's right - ''Shinji [[Precision F-Strike|FUCKING]] Ikari'' is the pilot who keeps his eye on the ball and his head in the game. The most cowardly pilot in the cast is the only guy who can manage to stay focused on the task at hand, and at least in this case, is able to keep his head in a crisis. Next to his earlier fights against Sachiel and Shamshel, this one makes Shinji look like a certified [[Badass]].

** The fight against the 6th Angel to this troper was brilliant. Both Shinji and Asuka manage to push their ''combined'' sync level to a point that never is quite revealed (but it's general consensus among fans it seems that it's the highest non-400 sync rate encountered in the TV series), forcing the mouth open and allowing two Iowa-class battleships (the Kentucky and Illinois, two ships that in reality were never finished) to blast it apart.

* Episode 9, in which Asuka and Shinji beat Israfel with the power of dance-fighting, complete with [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]. [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Both Of You, Dance Like You Want To Win!]]

* Shinji defying the odds and whatnot when he reaches into the volcano to save Asuka from certain magma-related death in episode 10, despite the risk of him joining her.

* The 3 EVA pilots working together (in episode 11) to defeat the Ninth Angel, Matarael, was truly awesome. They're even allowed to enjoy the victory afterwards! Asuka gets double the awesome, of course, because the plan was her idea, and she actually led the others without acting like a pompous know-it-all like she had throughout the episode.

* Ritsuko and Maya get one in episode 13, when they defeat the Eleventh Angel by ''reprogramming a computer''. This being [[Lipstick Lesbian|Maya]], Ritsuko gets excessively fangirled for her contribution.

* How about the the battle against [[Eldritch Abomination|Lel]][[Alien Geometries|iel]], the Twelfth Angel? First, Shinji FINALLY starts acting a bit [[Hot-Blooded]] - but then, of course, it [[Gone Horribly Wrong|Goes Horribly Wrong]], and we're treated to a monumental Mindscrew. Skip past that, to the part just before NERV's getting ready to drop the [[Nuke'Em|N2 mines]], the ground suddenly starts trembling, before the streets upheave as if it's an earthquake, piercing through the "[[Alien Geometries|shadow]]" and through the cracks we see this eerie red light, as if a gate to [[Hell]] is opening, causing everyone to freak out. Then, Leliel's "body" goes all black, and Unit 01 punches through its "skin" from the ''inside out'' and leaping to the ground as the wound tears open and it starts ''[[Gorn|raining blood]]'', now prompting [[Blood Knight|Asuka]] [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy|Langley]] [[Badass|Sohryu]] to freak the hell out. [[Nightmare Fuel|Terrifying for some]]? [[Your Mileage May Vary|Perhaps]]. Awesome as hell? Definitely.

* For me, Shinji threatening to tear apart NERV brick by brick after {{spoiler|Gendo forced him to nearly murder Toji}} was awesome. I was thinking "Woah, Shinji, when did you get a freakin' SPINE?!"

* Shinji’s finest moment came in episode 19, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rj7_FzzTxo against the 14th Angel]. Whatever happens with the other Angels, whether it's Yui going berserk and not him, whatever may happen in the other fights, in this one it's all him. He's brave and he's crazy and he just won't quit. And whatever you thought of him before, he demonstrates here that he's a warrior and a hero. And yes, this being Eva, the next several episodes and EoE likewise see our expectations brutally subverted. But just this once, we get to see him go out to do battle, "fangs out and hair on fire," and kicks ass like an action hero and saves the world. Not to mention performing a [[Dynamic Entry]] in a [[Humongous Mecha]].

* This troper smiled when Misato bitch-slapped Ritsuko for saying it didn't matter if Shinji lived or died.

* Rei gets a couple of moments late in the series, first against the 15th Angel, Arael, which she defeats by {{spoiler|throwing The Lance of Longinus INTO OUTER SPACE and impaling the Angel with it}}. And let's not forget the fight with the 16th Angel, Armisael, which ends with Rei {{spoiler|calmly trapping the Angel inside herself and the Eva and then initiating the self destruct sequence.}} Sad as Hell, but you gotta admit it was awesome.

** [[Mind Screw|And then]], [[Gainax Ending|apparently]], [[Instrumentality]] shatters around him, the cast [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|congratulates him on his newfound self-esteem]], including [[Tsundere|Asu]][[Jerkass|ka]], [[Kuudere|Re]][[Emotionless Girl|i]], and even [[Jerkass|his dad]], [[Magnificent Bastard|Gen]][[Archnemesis Dad|do]]. [[Earn Your Happy Ending|The scene is at once heartwarming AND awesome]].

** It is also accepted as one of the most disappointingly confusing endings ever. Quite frankly, I think that they were out of ideas at this point and wanted to end the series in a way that wouldn't fuck their minds along with everyone else's.

== End of Evangelion ==

* In End of Eva Shinji is, well... [[Angst|being Shinji]], saying he wants to die after Misato saves him. She first tries to reason with him but when that doesn't work she tries another approach: shoving him against a cage and roaring in his face.

* Misato gets a grand moment in End of Evangelion when she guns down several well armed JSSDF members with nothing but a pistol, without bothering to take cover, then kicks one against the wall and shoots him in the head and point blank range. Keep in mind, she is not a trained soldier by any means, at least not on the level of the several men she effortlessly killed.

** Actually, given that she holds the rank of Major and the billet of Chief of Operations in a paramilitary organization, it is inconceivable that she had not had any training. This in no way invalidates her Moment, however, as such a move normally results in a stupid death, rather than a cool line and a win.

* Asuka in ''The End of Evangelion'', when she took on ''nine'' Evas, each with unlimited power and a weapon that could slice through an AT field like it wasn't there, at once, armed only with a progressive knife and three and a half minutes of battery power. And won. {{spoiler|[[Hope Spot|Once]]}}.

** Of course, given that {{spoiler|they all turned out to be playing dead, it's pretty likely that they were just toying with her and waiting for her power to run out instead before tearing her to shreads. Sadistic monsters.}}

 

== Rebuild of Evangelion ==

** Shinji/Unit 01 versus Zeruel, which has consumed Rei/Unit 00 and can now access Terminal Dogma without triggering the self-destruction of the base. [[Big Damn Hero|Shinji saves Misato and everyone else at HQ with a punch to Zeruel.]] Fights inside NERV HQ and out despite losing an arm. Fights until his EVA loses power, as it did in the original. And then, instead of the Eva going berserk and fighting on its own a la 400% synch rate, manages to start the Eva up again with the power of his own will, and controls it the whole time.

** Three very terse words: "Give Ayanami back!". Cue a beatdown of divine proportions and a "[[Take My Hand]]" scene that is as badass as it is touching.

** It has been neglected to mention that Shinji and 01, in Rebuild 2.0, basically [[Rocket Punch|Rocket Punches]] Zeruel (with an energy arm, no less). As the Rocket Punch-esque attack starts up, Zeruel almost looks like it's in shock that the puny imitation-angel, that it had nearly fatally wounded seconds ago, is now doing things only Angels could do, such as having the power to become either [[Mazinger Z|a God or a Devil]].

** IT has also been neglected to mention that, in Rebuild, Unit-01's [[Beehive Barrier|A.T. Field]] takes a full-powered blast from Zeruel's [[Wave Motion Gun|optic]] [[Eye Beams|blast]] ''[[Up to Eleven|at point-blank range]]'', and makes it look like a kiddie light show. Then, after the aforementioned [[Rocket Punch]], Shinji and Unit-01 let loose with an [[Eye Beam]] of their own, which ''[[Curb Stomp Battle|completely trashes Zeruel's A.T. Field]]'' instantly, and nearly slices [[The Juggernaut|said Angel]] in ''two''.

** And then Shinji decides to [[Always Save the Girl|tear out Rei's soul]] while simultaneously delivering a [[One-Hit Kill]] to finish his opponent off.

*** Heck, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwSm9uVauyo just watch the damn thing].

* Hell, this time around Shinji's not as much of a wuss and kind of [[Badass]]. That's a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] on the part of <s>Gainax</s> Khara. Truly a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] that will be forever etched in this Troper's mind.

** And [[Fridge Brilliance]] makes it better- Shinji has just saved, oh, maybe two, three minutes of moping around. Two, three minutes in which, in the actual timeline {{spoiler|''Asuka fucking dies.''}} Do I smell an AU?

** A scan of the newest manga chapter. [http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llx3b0wiSj1qabxjyo1_r2_500.jpg OH YEAH.] May be a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment, but this is definitely a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for Shinji. Yup, definitely an AU by the looks of it.

* When Gendo shot Ritsuko in "End of Evangelion", that was the end of that. In the manga? {{spoiler|Ritsuko staggers to her feet afterward while Gendo is distracted with Rei's betrayal and ''shoots the bastard in the throat!'' DAMN!}}

** This really deserves some elaboration on why this is so freakin' awesome. Throughout the manga, Gendo has been a borderline [[Ax Crazy|psychotic]] who {{spoiler|has just revealed that he's really [[Jumped Off the Slippery Slope]] in a [[Motive Rant|rant]] to Shinji about how he's going to destroy the world and become a god, having done multiple morally questionable things (such as forcefully making Shinji indirectly murder his best friend) to accomplish this. Not only do we get the satisfaction of Rei rejecting and betraying him, we get to see [[The Dog Bites Back|Ritsuko shoot]] him while [[Shut UP, Hannibal|telling him]] [[Manipulative Bastard|he's full of crap]].}} Damn is a freakin understatement!

 

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