Previously:
Rei Ayanami sacrificed herself to save Shinji’s life…and
Kwaoru was just like “eh oh well, Hey Shinji you can be with me forever
now.” Shinji’s retort aside, he ran back
to Rei as soon as he heard she was still alive…only to learn it wasn’t his Rei
and Ritsuko had a ton of Rei’s to show to him and Misato before making sure Rei
III is the last Rei. Guess we didn’t
touch on that latter bit so much because A. nothing really changed from the
Anime and B. the Kwaoru stuff has me really irked. Well, time to get back to Final Impact: An
Evangelion Gundam Anime Corner Special and wrap up Kwaoru’s storyline in
what could be a make or break moment for the Manga for me.
Volume 11 (Episode 24-25, The End of Evangelion)
In the Anime:
With Asuka out of commission, Ritsuko arrested, Misato
buried in work and knowing the truth about Rei, Shinji feels more alone than
ever. That all changes when he meets
Kwaoru Nagisa, the Fifth Child, sent to replace Asuka as Eva Unit 02’s
pilot. The two quickly bond and Shinji
acts as Kwaoru’s guide touring NERV.
Kwaoru becomes fond of Shinji, admitting he loves him. However, the truth is soon revealed: Kwaoru
is actually Tabris, the 17th Angel, sent to NERV on SEELE’s behalf
to merge with “Adam.” He activates Unit
02 with his abilities and descends to Terminal Dogma with Shinji in
pursuit. Though he manages to stall
Shinji with Unit 02, Kwaoru hesitates in his mission when he realizes that it
is not Adam NERV has contained, but rather Lilith, the 2nd
Angel. This hesitation is enough for
Shinji to restrain Kwaoru. The Angel
tells Shinji to destroy him as he feels it is Mankind, not himself, that
deserves a future. Kwaoru tells Shinji his
life had meaning having met him…and Shinji carries out his final wish. With all
of the Angels destroyed, the members of NERV ponder what happens next. Shinji has become a shell of himself having
killed Kwaoru and still being unable to talk to Asuka or face Rei. SEELE offers Gendo warning of the
repercussions of his actions but Gendo seems undeterred. An attempt is made to hack NERV’s MAGI
Supercomputers but Ritsuko is freed from confinement to combat it. With the “peaceful” solution halted, SEELE launches
an invasion force of Japanese Self Defense Force troops into NERV HQ, who begin
to slaughter NERV staff without mercy.
·
Shinji receives a farewell message from Kensuke,
announcing he’s moving from Tokyo-3 following its destruction as a result of
Unit 00’s self destruct.
·
Kwaoru seems to taunt Shinji’s friendless state,
saying he’s all he has left now. Shinji
continues to refuse Kwaoru’s attempts at friendship, which frustrates Kwaoru
greatly.
·
Standing before Eva Unit 01, Gendo swallows the
Adam Embryo. In the Anime, he has the Embryo grafted onto his right hand.
·
When Misato visits Ritsuko in prison, Ritsuko
shares some extra info about how the Angels came to be. In the Anime, she just tells Misato her guess
that Kwaoru is the Final Angel.
·
Kwaoru talks with Shinji about the potential
outcome of Third Impact, about Mankind becoming one unified consciousness that
would be free from sadness, war and despair and he claims this is Shinji’s wish
for life.
·
When Shinji kills Kwaoru, it is in the same
manner Kwaoru killed the cat when they first met. Shinji tells Kwaoru that he’s never hated him
and he’ll never forget him, just like all the other people he’s lost that he’s
cared for.
·
After Kwaoru’s death, Shinji and Misato move to
NERV HQ for the time being.
·
Shinji goes to see Asuka again and tries to wake
her from her comatose state. Asuka
suddenly springs to life and tries to strangle Shinji, screaming she hates him
and everyone. It’s here where Shinji
truly breaks down.
Whew…ok…so I was right…and kind of wrong. In the Anime, Kwaoru’s death is a masterwork,
a perfect combination of animation, musical score, character drama and a single
moment where you know what’s about to happen but wonder if Shinji really will
do what Kwaoru asks of him. To me, it’s
the most perfect moment in the Evangelion TV Series. In the Manga…well it sucks to say but good
riddance to Kwaoru. The Manga seemed to
go out of its way from the get go to make him the most unlikeable character in
the story, and that’s topping Gendo Ikari himself. But even in the finale of his story arc, the
Manga continued to ramp up Kwaoru’s doucheiness by having him taunt Shinji and
saying he’s all he has. That’s abusive
and down right despicable. The only
thing that saves his final moments in any way is Shinji…because this Shinji may
still have endured a ton of psychological torment and still has much more to go
through…but when he says “I never hated you,” to Kwaoru…he’s right. Shinji has told him he could never see them
being friends (for many good reasons).
But hating him? Shinji’s honest
in that regard: he never said that and will never forget Kwaoru. At the very least, they got Shinji right in
this Kwaoru mess. Turns out, we’re
segueing into The End of Evangelion in this Volume as well. For anyone worried, Shinji’s most despicable
act from the opening moments of End of Eva are thankfully removed. Instead we get a moment that perfectly sets
up why he is sitting under those steps during the slaughter of NERV HQ. Asuka’s dialogue is very reminiscent of how
she lashes out at Shinji after her battle with Arael in the Anime. But to hear Asuka say those words now, with
Rei a new stranger, Kaji dead and Misato buried in work AND Kensuke leaving
Shinji a farewell message as he moves away with Hikari, who doesn’t want to see
Shinji after what happened to Toji…this is the straw that breaks Shinji’s
back.
Next week, we’re in the Endgame now. The End of Evangelion has begun. Will it be as bleak as the legendary movie or
does the Manga have other plans and fates in store for Shinji and what’s left
of NERV? Only three more Volumes to go
in Final Impact: An Evangelion Gundam Anime Corner Special. Brace yourselves for one helluva ride, see ya
then.
No comments:
Post a Comment