Summary
On February 7th, 1996, the most impactful episode ofNeon Genesis Evangelionpremiered. Titled “A Man’s Battle” or “Introjection”, it was twenty minutes of some of the tensest sequences seen in the series so far. After Shinji’s friend Toji Suzuhara was almost killed by the Dummy Plug-controlled Eva Unit 01. Shinji vowed to never pilot an Eva again, resigning from NERV. A new Angel attacked Tokyo-3, the overwhelming Zeruel, the Arm of God. Zeruel was by far the most powerful Angel NERV and the Eva pilots had ever faced. Asuka in her Eva-02 and Rei in Eva-00 were no match for him.
Shinji piloted Eva-01 once more. And the conclusion of this episode would shake the entire anime industry. A monstrous howl pierced the night sky, showing viewers the true form of Eva-01.
The following contains spoilers for Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)
Eva Unit 01 and Berserk Mode
She’s No Mere Robot
Eva Unit 01 is the main Evangelion unit seen in the series. When fans think ofNeon Genesis Evangelionand Mecha Anime, they quickly think of Eva-01. She’s piloted by Shinji Ikari, without any prior training or him even knowing about the existence of Eva, NERV, or Angels. Shinji being chosen to be her pilot was always a topic of debate. Why would a random child be the pilot for the most powerful humanoid weapon of humankind?
During Shinji’s first battle with an Angel, he was immediately defeated by Sachiel. However, Eva-01 moved by herself, roaring into the sky. With Fuyutsuki’s “we win” and Gendo Ikari’s smile, Eva-01 swiftly defeats the Angel, forcing him to self-destruct. Shinji had no input in this victory, Eva-01 destroyed Sachiel, all by herself. When Shinji looks at the reflection beside him, and as Eva-01 loses her helmet, Shinji sees in horror thatbehind her armor, she’s made of flesh and bone.
Right from the get-go, it is clear Eva-01 isn’t an ordinary mech. Moreover, she seems to have some level of reasoning. In episode 16, it happens again. After Shinji is absorbed by Leliel, Eva-01 enters Berserk once more,bursting out of the Angel. Right before this, as Shinji loses consciousness, he’s met by a ghostly figure, and he instinctively knows who it is; his late mother.
Two times already, when Shinji is in mortal danger, Eva-01 enters Berserk to save his life. And every time, she knows how to effectively kill the Angel. Eva-01 thinks she’s autonomous. Eva-01 holds the soul of Shinji’s late mother, Yui Ikari, the one who created the Eva Units. Yui has full control over Eva-01 when she enters Berserk mode.
The Beast, The Moment Evangelion Changed
She’s Finally Awake
Zeruel effortlesslydefeated both Asukaand Rei. And quickly infiltrates NERV. Right as he is about to destroy the command center, taking Misato and the others out in the process, Shinji storms in, attacking Zeruel with Eva-01. Shinji manages to take the Angel out on the Geofront surface again, but the power supply runs out. And Zeruel, knowing what Eva is, attacks Unit 01’s S2 Core. And as Shinji cries for the mech to move, he hears a heartbeat. And Eva-01 rises again.
Unit 01, or rather, Yui neutralizes Zeruel’s AT Field by corroding it with hers. She tears off one of Zeruel’s arms, using it to regenerate the one she lost. Acting like a wild animal, she crawls on all four limbs up to the defenseless Angel, and she proceeds to devour him.Eva-01 was always scary when she defeated the Angels, but this time it was something else. She behaved like a primal predator, savagely eating Zeruel in front of the NERV crew. She breathed and looked around like a lion, making sure it was undisturbed. Her eyes glowed like some sort of animal caught by night cameras. This was no robot, this was a beast.
Shiro Sagisu’s blood-curdling music “The Beast II” enhances the horrifying atmosphere of the scene. What was supposed to be amecha animenow looks more like psychological horror. The anime medium hadn’t seen anything like this, such a dark and Lovecraftian twist to a mecha anime. To this day, this episode continues to shock new audiences. Thanks to Evangelion being readily available, new anime fans have finally experienced this classic, and “A Man’s Battle” is still as horrific as it was in 1996.
