with the magi coming into greataer focus, my overriding question about the show is: do all the mystical allusions/ vocabulary actually *mean* anything? Does Hideako Anno actually know about the Sephiroth and the three wise men, or is he just using this vocabulary because of that one episode of Ultraman where they crucified Ultraman and then all nerds in Japan for the rest of time decided that Jewish/ Christian imagery and vocabulary was Cool
I'm open to changing my mind about this but for now, I basically treat it as meaningless (aside from whatever it contextually means in-show). I don't think it's 100% meaningless, though—I think Lilith and Adam for instance are not random choices, and neither is the term "Angel" as Shinji really specifically highlights what that term means here… but the more specific and esoteric the reference gets, the higher likelihood it is that it's just there to be cool. (I like to consider this payback for what we've done to Buddhism.)
What I find kind of interesting is that while Eva has some _crucifixion_ imagery there's no _Christ_ imagery that I can remember—though basically the way I'm doing is this is I'm a few episodes ahead in my rewatch and then I rewatch the episode in questio each week and take notes. In my memory, however, this is part of what makes cosmology interesting but also kind of frustrating, there's all this stuff but the center isn't there.
Great write-up as always—this is basically what you were saying but this strikes me as an example of how to do a midseason expositional workhorse episode with flair. Its function imo is mostly to explain the Magi and start seeding more conspiratorial ideas, like NERV having human enemies and what is in the Dogma (definitely its first mention btw).
But it pairs it with so much great character work—Asuka and Rei’s first sustained interaction, Shinji asking The Question the audience has been asking the whole time, a surprising amount of Fuyutsuki. I love his shorthand communication with Gendo, when they have their feet in the water and Fuyutsuki says “Lukewarm” and Gendo replies in his full serious commander voice “Agreed.” So good.
As for the Frasier question. I’m gonna agree that the timing doesn’t work but I think of a great post Katie McVay wrote called Frasier Loves Doors and So Do I that was about the forms that produced the sitcom like vaudeville and French farce (standout line: “The sitcom did not burst forth fully formed from the head of Norman Lear”). Can’t link because she nuked her archives sadly. I have no idea the history of comedy in Japan but it’s conceivable that Anno is pulling from a lot of shared sources.
the comic beat of "look at those guys… they're not bothered at all" only to reveal that they've got their feet in ice water… great work… great work… the show is really so funny right up until people start dying.
I don't know if it's available anywhere subtitled (though I believe you have your methods) but the romcom Anno did about half of after Eva, KareKano, is totally worth a watch, or at least, his half of it is (I don't think I watched past his episodes). (I do recommend it subtitled bc there's a certain deranged energy the American VAs don't quite summon despite their efforts…)
The brief reappearance of SEELE in "Magma Diver" is also another useful seed—it's like, remember these guys? they do matter.…
with the magi coming into greataer focus, my overriding question about the show is: do all the mystical allusions/ vocabulary actually *mean* anything? Does Hideako Anno actually know about the Sephiroth and the three wise men, or is he just using this vocabulary because of that one episode of Ultraman where they crucified Ultraman and then all nerds in Japan for the rest of time decided that Jewish/ Christian imagery and vocabulary was Cool
I'm open to changing my mind about this but for now, I basically treat it as meaningless (aside from whatever it contextually means in-show). I don't think it's 100% meaningless, though—I think Lilith and Adam for instance are not random choices, and neither is the term "Angel" as Shinji really specifically highlights what that term means here… but the more specific and esoteric the reference gets, the higher likelihood it is that it's just there to be cool. (I like to consider this payback for what we've done to Buddhism.)
What I find kind of interesting is that while Eva has some _crucifixion_ imagery there's no _Christ_ imagery that I can remember—though basically the way I'm doing is this is I'm a few episodes ahead in my rewatch and then I rewatch the episode in questio each week and take notes. In my memory, however, this is part of what makes cosmology interesting but also kind of frustrating, there's all this stuff but the center isn't there.
Great write-up as always—this is basically what you were saying but this strikes me as an example of how to do a midseason expositional workhorse episode with flair. Its function imo is mostly to explain the Magi and start seeding more conspiratorial ideas, like NERV having human enemies and what is in the Dogma (definitely its first mention btw).
But it pairs it with so much great character work—Asuka and Rei’s first sustained interaction, Shinji asking The Question the audience has been asking the whole time, a surprising amount of Fuyutsuki. I love his shorthand communication with Gendo, when they have their feet in the water and Fuyutsuki says “Lukewarm” and Gendo replies in his full serious commander voice “Agreed.” So good.
As for the Frasier question. I’m gonna agree that the timing doesn’t work but I think of a great post Katie McVay wrote called Frasier Loves Doors and So Do I that was about the forms that produced the sitcom like vaudeville and French farce (standout line: “The sitcom did not burst forth fully formed from the head of Norman Lear”). Can’t link because she nuked her archives sadly. I have no idea the history of comedy in Japan but it’s conceivable that Anno is pulling from a lot of shared sources.
the comic beat of "look at those guys… they're not bothered at all" only to reveal that they've got their feet in ice water… great work… great work… the show is really so funny right up until people start dying.
I don't know if it's available anywhere subtitled (though I believe you have your methods) but the romcom Anno did about half of after Eva, KareKano, is totally worth a watch, or at least, his half of it is (I don't think I watched past his episodes). (I do recommend it subtitled bc there's a certain deranged energy the American VAs don't quite summon despite their efforts…)
The brief reappearance of SEELE in "Magma Diver" is also another useful seed—it's like, remember these guys? they do matter.…