Shinseiki Evangelion ch.65

March 7, 2005 | 12 Comments

Sorry for posting this late but I was hesitant to buy this month's Shounen Ace because I thought it doesn't have any EVA chapter. I don't really like other series inside Shounen Ace so I'm always hesitant to plonk money to buy this magazine. Sadamoto-sensei seems to follow CLAMP's way of writing when it comes to this series. One chapter in a month then no news for a couple of months. But then all of a sudden, there's another chapter when I least expect it. The problem is, unlike other series, EVA manga don't normally tells you when the next chapter will come. Oh well, at least Sadamoto's artworks are worth it. That light sketch of Rei at the end of this chapter, for example, is enough to make me worship at the altar of Sadamoto. :)

Continuing from the previous chapter, this one begins with EVA 01 being launched onto the surface of the Geofront. After ordering Shinji to spread his AT-Field, Misato tells him to pay attention on the Angel to ensure that his EVA does not make a contact with it. However, when EVA 01 gets closer to EVA 00, a white energy field suddenly comes out of EVA 00 and begins to attack EVA 01. Shinji tries to shoot the energy field using his riffle to no avail. The energy force suddenly morphed into the shape of a hand and grabs EVA 01's hand, effectively infecting the EVA. Rei who witness the situation wonders if the energy field is her own heart that wants to become one with Shinji. As she considers the possibility, the white energy field morphs again and turns into a ghostly form of Rei.

Meanwhile inside EVA 02, Kaworu realises that something has flows into his face. When he opens his eyes, it's obvious that he's been crying. He, however, does not seem to understand that the water that comes out of his eyes are his own tears. Meanwhile from inside the control room, Misato orders Shinji to use the Prog-knife to fight the Angel. Shinji at first hesitate to use it on the Rei-shaped Angel. But then he realises that unless he does so, he and Rei will be in even more danger. With that in mind, he stabs the Angel, causing it to bleed profusely. Unfortunately, the Angel is rather persistent and ends up launching itself onto EVA 01's head. Soon enough, Shinji himself ends up becomes infected by the Angel. In his desperation, Shinji can't do anything else but screams Rei's name.

Upon seeing this, Rei begins to clutch her own stomach, causing her EVA to do the same and along the way begins to slowly suck her look-alike form into EVA 00's body. Maya is shocked to see this and reports to Ritsuko that Unit 00's AT-Field has now been reversed and starts to erode its own body. She believes that Rei intents on taking the Angel into EVA 00's body. True enough, as soon as she does this, the Rei's look-alike form can be seen being forcefully pulled back into EVA 00's body. Inside the control room, Misato panics and orders Rei to abandon Unit 00 and escapes right away. Rei, however, refuses and argues that if she leaves Unit 00, the AT-Field will disappear. Maya then announces that Unit 00's core is completely crushed now. Inside her EVA, Rei sees an image of Gendou. All of a sudden, a nuclear-like explosion appears where Unit 00 used to stand.

Impression:

*cues Kanon-D-Dur* Yikes. The manga ends up taking a similar path to the anime with this story. I wonder if this means that the manga will also follow the End of Evangelion plotline. God, this is going to be depressing all over again if that is the case. Having said that, I'm keen to see what will happen now that Asuka is comatose and Shinji has no more friends to support him. Will he become closer to Kaworu or will he still keep his distance to Kaworu? Kaworu himself is equally fascinating in this version. I feel that the one in the anime lacks character development that makes me sympathise with him. In this version, however, he seems more intriguing. It seems to me that just like Rei, Kaworu is experiencing all of different human emotions for the first time.

Speaking of Rei, it's interesting to note that the reason the Rei-shaped Angel manages to reach Shinji is because Unit 00's AT-Field was spread around the area. This is why when Rei pulls back her AT-Field in this chapter, the Angel also gets pulled back. I like this because of the symbolism that the scene offers. It's been repeatedly suggested within the series that apart from being a weapon that EVA uses, AT-Field is also the barrier that a human release to prevent themselves from getting hurt by others. It's people's defence mechanism to ensure that no one hurts their feelings. But if we put it into the context of this scene, it seems as if Rei's 'AT-Field' tries to reach Shinji, to become one with him. But in the end, Shinji is too afraid of her, so he rejects her and chooses solitude.

© memento 2003