How Eva-01 shook the world

Highlights

Eva-01, piloted by Shinji Ikari, surprises viewers with her true flesh-and-blood form, not just as a robot.
Eva-01 shows autonomy and reason and enters Berserker Mode twice to save Shinji’s life, controlled by Yui Ikari’s soul.
In a shocking twist, Eva-01 defeats the powerful angel Zeruel by acting like a savage predator and devouring him.

On February 7, 1996, the most influential episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion Premiere. Titled “A Man’s Battle” or “Introjection,” it contained twenty minutes of some of the most thrilling scenes the series has seen to date. After Shinji’s friend Toji Suzuhara was nearly killed by the Dummy Plug-controlled Eva Unit 01, Shinji vowed never to fly an Eva again and quit NERV. A new angel attacked Tokyo-3, the all-powerful 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.

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Shinji piloted Eva-01 once again. And the conclusion of this episode would shake the entire anime industry. A monstrous howl pierced the night sky and showed viewers Eva-01’s true form.

The following contains spoilers for Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

Eva Unit 01 and Berserk Mode

She is not just a robot

Eva Unit 01 is the most important Evangelion unit in the series. When fans think of Neon Genesis Evangelion and mecha anime, they quickly think of Eva-01. She is piloted by Shinji Ikari, with no prior training or even knowledge of the existence of Eva, NERV, or angels. Shinji being chosen as her pilot has always been a topic of debate. Why would a random child be the pilot for humanity’s most powerful humanoid weapon?

During Shinji’s first fight with an angel, he was instantly defeated by Sachiel. However, Eva-01 moved alone and roared to the sky. With Fuyutsuki’s “We win” and Gendo Ikari’s smile, Eva-01 quickly defeated the angel and forced it to self-destruct. Shinji had no influence on this victory, Eva-01 destroyed Sachiel all by itself. As Shinji looks at the reflection next to him and Eva-01 loses her helmet, Shinji realizes in horror that behind her armor she is made of flesh and bone.

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From the beginning, it is clear that Eva-01 is no ordinary mech. She also seems to have some level of intelligence. In episode 16, it happens again. After Shinji is absorbed by Leliel, Eva-01 goes berserk again and breaks out of the angel. Shortly before, when Shinji loses consciousness, he encounters a ghostly figure and instinctively knows who it is: his deceased mother.

Twice already, when Shinji’s life is in danger, Eva-01 has gone into berserker mode to save his life. And each time she knows how to kill the angel effectively. Eva-01 thinks she is autonomous. Eva-01 possesses the soul of Shinji’s deceased mother Yui Ikari, who created the Eva units. Yui has full control over Eva-01 when she goes into berserker mode.

The Beast, the moment Evangelion changed

She is finally awake

Zeruel easily defeats Asuka and Rei. And quickly infiltrates NERV. Just as he is about to destroy the command center, taking out Misato and the others in the process, Shinji rushes in and attacks Zeruel with Eva-01. Shinji manages to get the angel back to the Geofront surface, but the power supply runs out. And Zeruel, knowing what Eva is, attacks Unit 01’s S2 core. And as Shinji shouts for the mech to move, he hears a heartbeat. And Eva-01 rises again.

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Unit 01, or rather Yui, neutralizes Zeruel’s AT field by corroding it with hers. She rips off one of Zeruel’s arms and uses it to regenerate the lost one. She acts like a wild animal, crawling on all fours to the defenseless angel and devouring him. Eva-01 was always terrifying when she defeated the angels, but this time was different. She acted like a wild predator and ate Zeruel in front of the NERV crew. She breathed and looked around like a lion to make sure he was undisturbed. Her eyes glowed like those of an animal caught on night cameras. This was not a robot, this was a beast.

Shiro Sagisu’s bloodcurdling music, “The Beast II,” adds to the gruesome atmosphere of the scene. What was intended to be a mecha anime now looks more like psychological horror. The anime medium had never seen anything like it, such a dark and Lovecraftian twist on a mecha anime. To this day, this episode continues to shock new viewers. Thanks to the easy availability of Evangelion, new anime fans have finally experienced this classic, and “A Man’s Battle” is still just as gruesome as it was in 1996.