Episode 1: Ritsuko (Evangelion Analysis Project)

[@waygukin]

Notice how Ritsuko's mom falls on Balthasar, the mother part of the supercomputer, after killing a child.

[@shitpostadmiralty2921]

Anyone who says Anno is a pretentious director is an idiot. He's a genius at symbolism.

[@stonex55]

she jumped

[@gabgab1176]

@@stonex55 yes

[@LathropLdST]

@@stonex55 so? If you jump, you fall, duh! Only vegetables do things to your brain.

[@iHaveContrl]

the crying at the end, it is just horrifying, you can almost feel the pain of how broke she is.

[@yobootyhadmeded3022]

on par with misatos fs

[@KonekoneFukkatsu]

Just throwing my penny's worth in. The term that the members of Seele use in the scene is "ryoujoku" (陵辱). The word itself means "disgrace / shame / affront / insult / indignity" and so forth. However, it also has a more sinister nuance to it, with an added meaning of "sexual assault" and "rape". For context, the sentence in full is: "Wareware mo onbin ni koto wa susumetai. Kimi ni kore ijou no ryoujoku tsurai omoi wa sasetaku nai no da." Or in English: "We would like to continue things in a more amicable fashion now; after all, we've no desire to subject you to any further pain of defilement/degradation now." Rather tellingly, the word Ritsuko uses in her reply is "kutsujoku", instead of "ryoujoku", which similarly means "disgrace" or "humiliation", but doesn't carry the extra nuance of sexual assault ("I feel no humiliation, whatsoever"). This can be attributed to Ritsuko being defiant. Later, though, when Ritsuko breaks down in front of Misato and Shinji, she does in fact use the word "ryoujoku" specifically ("Ano hito no koto kangaeru dake de, donna ryoujoku ni datte taerareta wa. Atashi no karada nante dou demo ii no yo." / "Just so long as my thoughts were about that man, I was able to endure whatever type of defilement/degradation. As for my body, whatever happened, so be it; I didn't care.") Since she's no longer keeping up her walls and is breaking down, she now uses the word "ryoujoku", which is very telling indeed, as it really heavily implies that she was indeed raped at the behest of Seele, as is theorised here.

[@yaboiplank6764]

Wait Tf did they do to Rei then?

[@LathropLdST]

@@yaboiplank6764 she was sent in place of Rei... Gendo knew what interrogation meant... And he preferred to have Ritsuko, the useful love puppet, raped instead of Rei, Yui's clone. He used all his women, but at the end, Yui used him.

[@rsho3472]

@@LathropLdST Fuck Gendo, All my homies like him more without the upper half of his body

[@airlinefood6069]

Idk if it means anything but the white cat is staring longingly at the black cat, and the black cat is looking away

[@abcdefghilihgfedcba]

That’s the whole point.

[@sixfeetaway]

The cat thing comes off as just flat out wrong. If he were to say the cat's a representative of her and her mother it'd make more sense, her having bleached her hair and both being "pets" of Gendo's. If there is any significance as to their positions, possibly she's amused her cat is looking at her mother who's turned away from the bleached haired "mature" Ritsuko.

[@Justin-yt7pi]

Chad black cat

[@TheCubecrafer]

TyYui is writen on the keyboard ..

[@JohnDarkSouls00]

There's a scene in End of Eva where Shinji says to Asuka, "I need you" and she replies, "Liar." Makes me think the same convo happened between Ritsuko and Gendo. It's also possible Gendo killed Ritsuko because he figured he'd be seeing Yui soon, so her need was over. Also possible he figured the whole world is gonna end anyway so what does it matter if she dies.

[@kameha64]

+Vino_NY Jesus that's deep!

[@morgan4224]

In fairness the whole idea of End was confronting Shinji's dependance on the people around him and making him learn to actually like himself in order to help him lose his dependance on others. It's further demonstrated by the fact that "I need you" is the main repeating phrase used in End. (Heck the final part of End is called "I need you.")

[@kameha64]

+Morgan Anderson I agree, mostly. I just want to know what happened to Shinji & Ausku at The End of Evangelion!

[@morgan4224]

Well if sequal theory is true (personally I think it is, but hey, I'm not Anno) we will probably get some explanation in 3.0 + 1.0.

[@morgan4224]

@Romano Coombs Anno is superb

[@berzerk9380]

Jesus, everyone in this show needs a hug.

[@qwert635yuiop9]

Yeah thats pretty much the whole theme more or less

[@lilqueso8190]

Everyone got a hug in EOE

[@grahambox7530]

Well alright imma go and hug Sahaquiel

[@petarpranjic2344]

Arguably a bullet to the temple lol. Well, some do.

[@perrilewis180]

I mean except Gendo and Yui. Like Gendo's awful and dumb and Yui is crazy woman who thought she could be God by getting eaten by a cyborg.

[@EvaAnalysisProject]

So I'm revisiting this video and seeing some comments on the validity of the sexual assault theory. My biggest regret thus far in this project is that I wished I had given more time in the episode for this theory in particular. I have a lot more evidence than what is shown in the episode, in regards to the context of the scene and Seele's quotes, and the events between Gendo and Seele leading up to the interrogation scene, and much more. But I thought that the audience wouldn't stick around for such long episode formats, so I watered it down. Boy, was I wrong. Biggest regret so far, I'll probably add a second part for Ritsuko's episode later on down the line.

[@smashtilDawn]

+Evangelion Analysis Project I just caught this video and it was well crafted out. Please work on a part 2 !!

[@euphony5552]

Evangelion Analysis Project ITS NOT CALLED 'Ma-jie' IT's Ma-Gee

[@wiiztec]

No it's definitely madge eye

[@redsnake69]

I'm still waiting...

[@breh9243]

Thank you

[@rfrolicarts]

The brilliance of this show is that multiple interpretations would explain Ritsuko's motivation for destroying the dummy plug system. I've seen many interpretations: Ritsuko is purely angry at Gendo personal reasons and so wants to ruin his plans; Ritsuko is jealous of Rei and wants to take out her aggression on a Rei-like figure; Ritsuko resents throwing her life/career away on a man who would put a knife in her back (making it more of a professional betrayal than something between lovers); Ritsuko is angry at herself for following in her mother's footsteps and is just lashing out wherever she can; I even saw one theory that Ritsuko did it to essentially "put Rei out of her misery" because she knew Rei was being abused by Gendo. I can understand why people are hesitant to believe she had gone through something as horrible as the multiple rapes, but at this same time, this show has always been about inviting you to read between the lines. We have to consider that there were some dark themes Anno couldn't show explicitly, so he did the next best things- for example, he planned to kill off Touji completely, but the censors said he couldn't do that, so he just had Touji lose a limb. (I mean, obviously that was out the window when Kaworu got smooshed, but you know...) I think it's entirely possible that we are supposed to infer that Ritsuko was assaulted and her standing nude in front of SEELE is visual shorthand. But, even if that's not what happened, it's still enough of a betrayal to push Ritsuko to the edge.

[@jmiquelmb]

I think it's entirely plausible that she'd been assaulted, but also that she hadn't. Being nude in front of the entire comitee is already pretty fucked up, and knowing Gendo betrayed her in such a way could be enough for her to do what she did.

[@yobootyhadmeded3022]

this is what i agree with

[@CodaBroda]

The only thing that holds me back from the "I loved you" theory is that 1. He loved Yui, he used Nerv and the entire organization of people working there in order to get to her. It is possible that he is lying to Ritsuko to at least give her a sense that she wasn't completely used by him like everyone else at Nerv. 2. The manga is written by Sadamoto, not Hideaki Anno, so it is a different interpretation.

[@Jordanationalismtion]

I always took her talk of 'not caring about her body' as referring to her own disgust with herself. Years of degrading her body with the cold, unfeeling Gendo, sharing the slightest bit of intimacy only to have any meaning of it ripped away with his cold, uncaring demeanor, or something similar. Considering just how poorly he treated everyone, including her, I could see her feeling that she's trapped in the relationship. At least, that's how it always occurred to me.

[@YABUKIJOE2077]

She didn’t deserve all of that :(

[@robynsegg]

Very well done. And so heartbreaking. The first time I saw Ritsuko nude, I didn't get it. But on repeated viewing and on hearing Seele say, "We don't wish to subject to further humiliation." I eventually got that she may have been sexually raped by Seele. But your video makes me see that she was raped REPEATEDLY. Now, I sadly get it. I got also got the salt and pepper dispensers as a reflection of her and him. One more pointing the cat... I am surprised that you didn't mention Ritsuko's sadness over the cat's death and her telling Gendo about it as possibly her seeing that cat as a physical metaphor for the real child she never had with Gendo. Think about it... it was never mentioned but just where did that cat come from. Some single women most often see gifts (pets, stuffed animals, etc.) given to them by their boyfriends as their (sort of) "child" with that boyfriend. Gendo might have given her that cat as a pet when they started their relationship and that "pet" became psychologically their "child" together. Why else would she make such a big deal about telling Gendo of the cat's death... especially after her conversation with her Grandmother (Naoko's mother) by saying, "So... that CHILD died." One final point all together... I finally read volumes 13 & 14 at my local Barnes and Noble a week before Otakon. Gendo's silent words in the manga were actually, "Ritsuko Akagi... I really loved you." As a a woman, if I had felt that kind of betrayal I would probably want to act that way too. Being told, "I need you." (even though I did I see that and also interpret that on Maya's laptop as being Gendo's words to Ritsuko and her words to Maya) "I love you is much more powerful... and hurtful... causing a woman to respond so with the words, "You liar." Thank you for your interpretations. As a result, I'm subbing you. I look forward to many, many more!

[@abcdefghilihgfedcba]

The “child” may be a mistranslation, Ritsuko says 子 which means child in terms of both humans and animals. See definitions 1 and 2: jisho.org/search/%E5%AD%90

[@tuannguyenm.893]

Wtf

[@mrbanks456]

"Aishiteimashita" (past tense for "loved") fits Gendo's lip flaps too. In google translate if I put "honto ni" (the last words Gendo says which means truly) and "aishiteimashita" together it literally translates to "I really loved you." Thought I'd throw that out there.

[@lirenxu7030]

@@mrbanks456 it could also be“ほんとに すみませんでした。”

[@zinzolin14]

That's a good observation. I couldn't figure out why Ritsuko would mention her cat dying to Gendo, of all things. The cat being a "substitute child" between Ritsuko and Gendo also symbolized Ritsuko's emotional attachment to Gendo. If Gendo actually gave Ritsuko the cat then it would make the cat that much more meaningful. The cat's death must've symbolized the moment Ritsuko was done being used by him.

[@Jayfive276]

One aspect of Ritsuko that people overlook - her magnificent legs of science.

[@adamlee9886]

Regarding the line "I need you," I think it refers more to Ritsuko's and Gendo's need for female models in their lives, Ritsuko's need for her mother despite hating her and Gendo's need for Yui

[@adamlee9886]

Also if you'll recall, when the Angel attacked the Magi supercomputer, the angels (the mother component) invaded Casper the supposed woman component of the 3 Magi... were they trying to remind Ritsuko that she needs her mother?

[@luckymouse1988]

Neon Genesis Evangelion manga chapter 85 page 15 ( I believe ), shows the scene of Gendo's inaudible words, there it is revealed that what he said was "I did love you". Seeing as she knew that Gendo only used her, her saying "liar", makes pretty much sense. Great analysis video by the way.

[@joeneedstosleep]

I don't think Ritsuko was sexually assaulted. The Japanese phrase used where it's "anymore" in English is "kore ijou" (これ以上) is best translated as "moreso than this," where "this" refers to something present or relatively immediate. If Seele 01 wanted to refer to something that probably happened elsewhere (i.e. Ritsuko being sexually assaulted) he would have said "are ijou." (あれ以上) In all likelihood he means "more than you having to stand here naked in front of us."

[@hammerheaddummyface]

I don't think Ritsuko was sexually abused by SEELE. I think what they meant by "degradation" was how she was presented naked in front of the committee.

[@entropicessence]

pretty ironic to have Gendo as the thumbnail of Ritsuko's character analysis video

[@sabrinabenitezsalazar6481]

Wow I did not understand ritsukos story on my first watch, this is so tragic it honestly brought me to tears

[@HonestToCritic]

I think Ritsuke had great respect for her mother as a scientist witch shows. I think it got to the point where she idolized her mother as a sorta scientific god. With this in mind, i think her hate for her stems giving into mortal pleasures when she wittnesses her and gendo. That y she specifically says she hated her as a women. Once her mother dies she tries to literally step into her mothers shoes and also persues Gendo. If u listen to her talk with Misato it's obvious she still dislpays distaste for sex in misatos explicit relationship with kagi. The question i ponder is did she persue Gendo to be more like her mother or was she curious to know what her mother saw in Gendo and ended up falling for him too?

[@luketia]

I don't buy thay she had a crush on Gendo or that this was part of her hatred of her mother. She had a relationship with Gendo as a backwards way or connecting with and getting back at her mother. She was mad that her mother was so shameless in pursuing Gendo. She also let herself be taken advantage of because of her own lack of self respect. Of course, I think Gendos brilliance and power made both of them feel special even if they knew it was a charade. To repeat the original point - there is zero reason to believe there was a "crush." Yhat is just a normal picture of a schoolgirl excited for the future and life. Gendo is a bastard but he doesn't break all taboos.

[@dragvrallass1658]

i agree also don't forget that gendo is the hierarchical superior of ritsuko in ever possible way, there's huge chance that she was coerced into like many people on the work place. Also sidenote, before this scene ritsuko leaves for joining with misato who came back from germany since she broke up with kaji and she's super happy about it and her mother calls her cold for that (ironic when you know she did the same exact thing with gendo)

[@putapets5525]

Gendo is harem

[@wx4newengland]

Lets ride the Gendo train!

[@voivodadracula1936]

Like Ritsuko and her mom?

[@UmbraHand]

wx4newengland Evabridged

[@candlelighter1588]

Agh ew

[@voivodadracula1936]

@@spacepotatoes2019 good lord have mercy

[@Justin-yt7pi]

Unironically *YES*

[@Akilwrath]

It's even worse when the show gives a small sense hope with the relationship of Asuka and Shinji, then completely crushes it in the end.

[@LathropLdST]

Cats can live 20 years, if cared for. Within the cat's life, she never changed. Only when it died, she started to confront her feelings for him.

[@Balder-gb4eq]

She hated her mother but in the end became her. I think gendo's words to her were probably "I truly cared for you"

[@JozannaHanawalt487]

Holy crap, I never noticed the significance of the "I need you" and "pet cat" scenes before, but taking her actions throughout the series into account, they make so much sense. :O PLEASE continue with this series and do more of these. They're brilliant.

[@Pduarte79]

Her and Kaji needed more love in Evagelion. Her we know is repeating the same ark as her mother. But would be interesting to know why Kaji, is the way he is, did love or hated his parents, what made him be a womanizer and a watermelon enthusiast lol. Since NGE enjoys Freud so much, a good backstory for him, if Misato sees in Kaji, her mother. Maybe the same happens with Kaji, maybe he lost his father in the 2nd Impact and her mother feelin alone, started to date and have s*x with other man, and he simply repeated the pattern, becoming a womanizer to feel his void, and fell inlove by Misato, because she remind him of his mother, so would be cool parallel between the two.

[@MrQuickrebuttle]

Probably one of the best written characters in the show. No matter what obstacles, whatever she had to do, she did it. And it still wasn't enough. Don't sell your soul, kids.

[@Pduarte79]

I took the Ritsuko and Misato dynamic, the logical vs emotional side of women and how both relate with man, Kaji and Gendo. One being the good lover and other bad lover. Aswell like Rei and Asuka, one being more introvert and extrovert and Shinji being the typical pubescent boy.

[@guts3289]

This dude literally made some great content and dipped. Come back and finish this series my dude

[@blrdnames]

I think the cat scene goes deeper than that. More like, the cat itself represents Ritsuko's feelings for Gendo. She hadn't cared for it for a long time and then suddenly she could never get it back.

[@braderickson9996]

Can one over-analyze Evangelion? I am learning that the answer to that question is no, as of 03/2017.

[@kaimcdragonfist4803]

Here in the beautiful future of 6/2018, answer's still no.

[@xertifiedowo8221]

4/15/2018 Yup still nothin’. But Netflix Evangelion will come boyz soooo possible

[@ramonturner4721]

Brad Erickson here in 04/30/2020 and that answer is still an astounding no.

[@jacobwhite208]

theres lots to analyze still, we just need to make sure we dont use the netflix dub for analyzing. they fucked that shit up.

[@codyb9205]

As soon as you think you get it all. You realize that you don't have nearly enough answers.

[@doooot]

This is a really good analysis! Ritsuko is one of my favourite characters.

[@rkgk1517]

if you have any doubts about the Ritsuko was assaulted theory, check out the EvaGeeks wiki. There are pages and pages detailing this theory and to me it is hard to go back to being naive about that scene after reading it. Anno is a master of "Show don't tell" - I think this is the meaning you are supposed to read between the lines.

[@PattySmith339]

the only thing i disagree with is the sexual assault on ritsuko by seele, as the 2 scene was taken out of context, where she stand infront of seele members nude is "embarrassment" enough. and the scene where she destory the "Rei" clone.. she was talking about gendo.

[@candlelighter1588]

Gendo’s silent words were result of audio cutting out in the recording It was just so perfect they ended up keeping it

[@whitewolfgod7013]

+Evagelion Analysis Project OMG I just figured someting out!!! It´s just a theory but "hear me out". It was the cat lady that Kaji talked to in the scene of the storagehouse that called Ritsuko saying that the cat died, "the cat" being Kaji himself. But she didin´t cry... Tell me what do you think?

[@EddieMillerStudios]

Man, her crying at the end was like a punch to the stomach.

[@aldohernandez3009]

Notice that Misato Ritsuko and Kaji all died being shot with a bullet

[@Cristianomare]

Beautiful, I'm really discovering and enjoying truly Evangelion only after I completed the series. Masterpiece. And thank you for your help

[@Digroose]

In the manga Gendo says "I loved you". There was originally an explosion that cut him off, but they took it out and they were going to change it, but the creator liked the mystery about it, so they kept it.

[@tomemeornottomeme1864]

The line was "I needed you" for EoE. Remember that the manga didn't finish until 18 years after the show aired. Sadamoto, the creator of the manga, changed a *lot* so that it'd be different.

[@CrimsonOptics]

Nice analysis. I think the symbolic cats could mean what you said, but I think they could represent the duality of Ritsuko's relationship with Gendo. She probably feels contempt towards him for being romantically involved with her mother, but at the same time she was also romantically involved with him, and is even jealous that her mother had that kind of relationship with Gendo.

[@2fingacriminal]

Sometimes i wish i never got into evangellion because of all the complex stuff like this

[@cloudlashley]

Even though the manga is written by Sadamoto, I feel like he and Anno collaborate on what is acceptable to put into the manga. It is Anno's creation, so I'm sure that Sadamoto probably goes to him so that they can talk about what to allow to be written.

[@mikaelalt9449]

2018? this show still gives me PTSD

[@phillipta]

You are amazing, thank you for all this insight!

[@FoolyCoolyBlackLagoony]

Great work! I never realised the depth of this character until you put it in to perspective. I can't wait to see who/what you look at next.

[@qzxihaha]

Please continue to upload... you can't leave us hanging

[@Crazyzen777]

I believe it would be important to note how Ritsuko "suddenly, could not see them [her cats] again" mirrors how her mother sent Ritsuko away and then later committed suicide. Ritsuko realizes she did the same to her cats, her only children, as her mother did. In fact, the show is riddled with scenes where Ritsuko explicitly mentions, albeit reluctantly, the similarities between her and her mother. Ritsuko = her mother as is common for troubled children to exhibit traits of that which they hate.

[@nekowasteland]

watching this made me realize i totally missed half the shows plot lmao

[@BMW-M3_HK21E]

The thumbnail: Ah yes, ritsuko akagi

[@pm2881]

Great analysis. Honestly Ritsuko's my favorite character

[@normalguycap]

Ritsuko was not sexually assaulted. The 'anymore' is only in reference to standing there naked. She wants to die for other reasons, like her petty love, not because she was abused which she wasn't. The committee is far to respectful and her gaze is not a glare or defiance but calm neutrality. She's just waiting.

[@helioskitty9328]

normalguycap I know this comment was from three years ago but I’m very perplexed as to what possibly makes you think the SEELE committee is anything resembling “respectful”

[@sixfeetaway]

I think the burden of proof fell more on OP who said he just glossed over it in the description of the video... and instead of actually stating more definitive proof just says maybe he'll make another video. Doesn't seem like he did. And you, what makes you think they are disrespectful to the extent you'd phrase your question as you did.

[@helioskitty9328]

sixfeetaway SEELE ordered people’s deaths throughout the series and especially in End of Evangelion when they attempted to slaughter everyone in NERV, forced the entirety of humanity into a nonconsensual mind meld in the form of Instrumentality, sent Kaworu into NERV to mentally break Shinji, and, rather pertinently here, forced Ritsuko to sit there naked while they interrogated her. I’m not saying they necessarily *did* sexually assault her (though it seems like a very plausible interpretation), but acting like they’re just too moral and respectful to do it is nonsense. The SEELE guys are complete monsters.

[@sixfeetaway]

Okay, the only thing of importance is whether or not they ordered for her to be assaulted. Before the interrogation. Not after. Why would they do that? From what we saw, they didn't seem to be suggesting she'd just go straight back to being assaulted or worse if she didn't properly answer questions.

[@sixfeetaway]

@Romano Coombs A lot of words to not really say anything, still have no reason to believe they consider that "advanced recon training".

[@SirEriol]

I come yet again to this video, but now to point out that the epilogue to EoE, the _final_ finale to the series, is titled ONE MORE FINAL: I NEED YOU. The Third Impact starts because of humanity's need to be one with others, to be needed and to be loved. It ends because the need of needing another, to love, is stronger than our fear of solitude. And that is a lovely thing. Now, let's end with a true, but funny, one: both Misato and Ritsuko are there with everybody else during the Third Impact. There are these brief glimpses of Rei becoming a psychopomp for them, to save them from their injuries so they can, eventually, come back from the sea of LCL, and both of them appear in the Red Poster that seems ominous but shows humanity coming back from it. Two women, one a mother and one a scientist. So, in essence, Rei's final feelings towards Ritsuko were "I'm gonna save you, because, well, I know you tried to killed me, but at least you didn't, and really you wanted to kill a dangerous man and save everybody in the end, so yeah, you're better than your mom". I miss you, Evangelion Analysis Project. I hope you return one day, soon.

[@fannietheflaky]

The cat dying is also a reference to her mother. Ritsuko was supposed to take care of the cat but she didn't and it died. Just like her mother did not care for her and made a part of her die. I think her relationship with her mother was the biggest driving force in her life, not her relationship with Gendo. She hated and admired her and in the end she became exactly like her as a scientist, a woman AND a mother. Shown here with the death of the cat.

[@PontoLyone]

Women just can't help but feel attracted to Sigma males like Gendo

[@noneyazfool]

In the manga, Gendo Ikari says to Ritsuko, "I love/loved you." (I can't remember which. Then she says that he is a liar and that he only ever loved Yui. I'm not sure if that same message was meant for the anime though, since magas and anime can differ significantly.

[@CodaBroda]

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto wrote the story for the manga. Hideaki Anno wrote the anime. You are right, they are completely separate works.

[@firishte1]

THANK YOU for being so awesome to bring this video FOR US!!! I ENJOYED ALOT IT, AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE ANALYSIS OF THE EPISODES!!

[@comradefreedom8275]

Wow... that last part about her assault... I never looked at it that way... I'm quite... shocked and sad about it.

[@sixfeetaway]

I think this guy's just bullshitting a lot here, both on the interpretation of ritsuko gazing at cats with the photograph and this "sexual assault" which he admits to just glossing over in the description.... and doesn't go on to state any further proof.

[@bailey2866]

@@sixfeetaway I also feel like you aren't willing to look more into depth about things. These things are meant to be analyzed and infered, not directly stated. Try taking a film study class some time or learning something about film analysis. He also said in a pinned comment that he glossed over the sexual assault theory cause he thought people wouldn't stay on the video if it was too long and if he put in all the evidence he had for it.

[@EphemeralSynthesis]

Please do one on Misato Katsuragi, please! She's one of my favorite characters!

[@camo8723]

This is a great analysis with new info and interpretations that I actually find truly useful. Been following Evangelion for 20 years, so I kinda know one or two things and I have to praise for your work. It-s a shame you didn't continue but anyway I-ll subscribe.

[@MagicFan81]

Keep doing these, these help me understand the series so much better!

[@sjkcm2]

Thanks a lot for this.

[@eanayac]

Geez! This episode is so sick! Great analysis!

[@Bainbridge40]

This is so good, please keep making them!

[@mrkaji8913]

I think the word that he said was that he started the second impact

[@ShizukuSeiji]

This is nice work. Thank you for presenting it. I'd worked out myself what Gendo's silent words most probably were - and we agree, mainly, as you say, because of the moment of Maya's instrumentality. I'm with William Baker on the conclusion that the black and white cats represent Ritsuko and her mother. The idea of light and dark colouring is maintained, as well as light and dark personality, acts, and thoughts. The English translation you've used isn't the best. The platinum boxed set replaces the words "insulted/insults" with "degradation". Degrading someone can be viewed as forcing them to stand before a interrogation naked, and I see no value in Seele's security men actually sexually asaulting the woman, Seele would gain nothing by it except to harden Ritsuko's resolve (they'd have a full personality profile on their head scientist) and they need answers from her in the interview. Also JoeNeedsToSleep has valid comments on the original Japanese intention of the words. You should probably remove that section or edit it in a later version. There's little to no evidence to support your theory and much to contradict it. Finally if people think this or the show itself is boring or depressing then you're just watching material that's inappropriate for you. Its not a show aimed at teenaged mecha fans, but at an older and wiser audience. The anime is packed full of repeating scenes, paired scenes and mirrored scenes, where seeing the other half of a pair can allow the viewer to better understand it's counterpart, its another piece of evidence of how superbly written the story is and how tightly directed.

[@TheFreakinRican123]

I love these videos. Your explanations really give me a greater appreciation for the original series. Can't wait to see the next one. :)

[@vitomania04]

Thank you so much for this analysis. I loved it.

[@CorssairTF2]

Part 2 please, part two!! Dude you need to explain me that scene in End of Evangelion where Shinji has been asking "Can I stay here" and there was no response to it so he then screamed.

[@FireMario149]

Hyping me up for 3.0. Very well thought out analysis!

[@matthewbolden3582]

Very well-detailed and interesting points in these analyses. I love them! I really hope you can get around to doing Misato and Asuka, as I feel like they contain some of the most interesting background histories when it comes to the psychology of the mind and the crucial purpose points for this series. Keep up the awesome work.

[@ShadowMasochist]

I saw you added it to the description. Thanks!

[@TheThomasMalthus]

This is awesome. I can't wait for the next episode!

[@VinceCanWin]

As a huge fan of Eva, I'm looking forward to seeing the next episodes. Great job.

[@theproplady]

Please do more. A good film-school analysis of Evangelion would be most welcome.

[@maxw6494]

I imagine it would have been something like that, there was no ire or pride in his response, when responding to her, even though you didint hear the exact words.... and that was a brilliant deduction, well some outside help was needed like clues from the va's but the way anno set it up and executed it, he truly is a genius.

[@con3dbz]

dude you just put all my thoughts and feelings about evangelion into words. i thought i was the only one getting extremely depressed.

[@CodaBroda]

Oh my gosh! I NEVER noticed that, nice find! :D

[@alexjaybrady]

thank god this video is accessible again

[@kanyewestlover8530]

HIOW WAS THIS UPLOADED 9 YEARS AGO I FEEL LIKE IWACHED IT YESTRERDAY

[@lompocus]

I swear I'm going to watch the series all over again, from Ep 1 to EoE to Rebuild 3, just because of these videos. Without the insight, i.e. without having thought this through, watching eva is like living a terrible story through the children's eyes. However, once you figure out an explanation (not the explanation, just some explanation that's more developed than a first-glance type of thing), it's like perceiving things as the dark and futile elements of a complex process that they are.

[@magicalkiwibird]

That kind of explains my entire opinion of this show... I'm glad to see that someone agree with the opinion I didn't know I had until just now lol

[@thewalrusx]

@10:44 that could also mean the degradation she faced from gendo, especially in the act of him carelessly casting her aside to save his own ass.

[@KaiserChiefsPocketbombs]

man this is deep, you gotta keep going with this. I really really got into this.

[@wocb]

awesome!!! Can't wait to see more!

[@whoknows8101]

7:23 young ritsuko looks like misaki from welcome to the nhk

[@epiphysiscerebri9386]

9:32 I hate the fact I missed these kinds of things the first time. Good video

[@GuvBubbs]

Love it man! Would love to see more

[@SuperFredster]

"Minor" charactor yet so deep

[@wallytj322]

Excellent analysis!

[@r.babylon2885]

I always figured he just said that he always loved her. Motive aside, it makes the most sense, regarding the context and her response.

[@k43r1k]

omg excellent i cant wait to see more of your vids

[@Rei328]

Really love your vids explains everything clear and easy

[@quadrodopollock]

Unrelated but I love the headcannon of Ritsuko's mother being the soul of the EVA 0

[@Frogman1212]

The sexual assault thing doesn't really hold water to me but it would make more sense if Gendo predicted that would happen adding to why he would send someone who isn't rei.

[@Youriblank]

There is also a clear visual hint in the neko scene: there are two cats on the table, a white one and a black one, which match the colors Ritsuko and Gendo are wearing in the picture.

[@Xyos212]

Thanks for this man hope you keep going :)

[@ALLKRIEG]

Interesting work!