The Beast (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

"The Beast", known as "Unfamiliar Ceilings" in Japan, is the second episode of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, created by Gainax. The episode was written by the series director Hideaki Anno and Yōji Enokido and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki. It aired originally on TV Tokyo on October 11, 1995. The series is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm, particularly in the futuristic fortified city of Tokyo-3. The protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who was recruited by his father Gendo to the shadowy organization Nerv to pilot a giant bio-machine mecha called an "Evangelion" into combat with beings called "Angels".

"The Beast"
Neon Genesis Evangelion episode
Christian imageries were used for "The Beast", including the cross-shaped explosion caused by the destruction of the Third Angel.
Episode no.Episode 2
Directed byKazuya Tsurumaki
Written byHideaki Anno
Yoji Enokido
Story byHideaki Anno
Original air dateOctober 11, 1995
Running time22 minutes

Production of "The Beast" began in September 1994 and ended in May 1995. Staff used consistent Christian religious symbolism in the episode, trying to differentiate the show from other mecha series. The title, "The Beast", itself references Beast from the sea from the Book of Revelation. The episode scored a 5.3% rating and received critical and public acclaim focused on its visuals, direction, and sound.

Plot

Young pilot Shinji Ikari prepares to face an enemy named Sachiel, third of a series of beings called Angels, in his mecha Evangelion 01. Shinji manages to move his Eva, making it try a successful first step. But as he attempt to take a second step, the Eva trips, falls over and lands face first on the ground. Eva-01 is left helpless as Sachiel advances on it; Shinji is completely frozen with fear, and fails to defend himself as the Angel proceeds to pick up the Eva by the face, and then damages its left arm and right eye. The pilot's signal is lost, and the Eva is lifeless. Shinji suddenly wakes up in an unfamiliar, empty hospital room.

Gendo, head of the special agency, Nerv, is instructed not to let the reappearance of the Angels allow a process named Human Instrumentality Project to fall behind schedule. Shinji sees his fellow pilot Rei Ayanami at the hospital. Nerv' captain Misato Katsuragi comes to pick Shinji up at the hospital and they meet Gendo by the elevator, but Shinji wordlessly refuses to enter. Misato takes Shinji to be assigned accommodation, but discovers that he is to live on his own. She decides to take him to live with her instead. Misato and Shinji arrive at Misato's Apartment. Misato's apartment is in a state with empty beer cans everywhere, and only ice, condiments and more beer in the fridge.

Shinji lies alone in his bedroom, listening to his Digital Audio Tape player. As he does so, sounds from the battle are heard and images of nerve cells as viewed through a microscope flash across the screen. In a flashback, Shinji remembers that Eva-01 was rendered inoperative by Sachiel's attack, with Nerv losing control of the Eva and contact with the pilot. Eva-01 suddenly reactivates and begins to act on her own. She launches a vicious attack upon the Angel, succeeding in damaging its face. A second attack by the Eva is blocked by a powerful barrier named A.T. Field. The Eva repairs her broken left arm and erodes the Angel's barrier with another A.T. Field. Once the barrier is down, Eva-01 soundly defeats Sachiel by shattering the downed Angel's core. Sachiel, in a last desperate attack, wraps itself around the Eva and self destructs in a massive cross shaped explosion. Eva-01 emerges from the explosion with little apparent damage. As Nerv regains control of the Evangelion, Shinji comes to in the entry plug. The damaged helmet sloughs off, and Shinji is able to glimpse the Eva's face reflected in the windows of a building. As he looks on, the Eva's eye regenerates and suddenly focuses straight at him. Shinji begins to scream and the flashback ends. Shinji slowly curls up in bed after recalling the battle. Misato comes to his door and praises him for piloting the Eva and saving the city.

Production
I wonder if a person over the age of twenty who likes robot anime is really happy. He could find greater happiness elsewhere. Regretably, I have my doubts about his happiness. As I was making this work I wanted to try to consider what in the world could the 'happiness' of such a person be?

— Hideaki Anno during the production for the first two episodes[1]

Production for "The Beast" began in September 1994, simultaneously with "Angel Attack", and ended in May 1995.[2] The Japanese title "Unfamiliar Ceilings" was decided on in 1993.[3][4] Yōji Enokido and Hideaki Anno wrote the script,[5] while Kazuya Tsurumaki served as director for the episode.[6] Continuing their work from "Angel Attack", Anno and assistant director Masayuki cured the storyboards.[7] For the combat between Eva-01 and Sachiel, the chief animator, Yū Honda and Yoh Yoshinari handled the key animation. Shinya Hasegawa handled the key animation around the scene where Misato is drinking beer in her apartment and suggests Shinji take a bath. Yoshitō Asari and Seiji Kio served as assistant character designer.[8][9]

A battle between an Angel named Raziel and berserk Unit 01 was also planned for "Angel Attack", but it was eventually moved to "The Beast" and the Angel changed to Sachiel.[10] Besides the original soundtrack, composed by Shiro Sagisu, the staff used You are the only one by Kotono Mitsuishi, published in her image album Lilia ~from Ys~ (1992).[11][12] In the hospital scene, where Shinji stands alone in an empty corridor, strong contrasts of light and shadow were used, keeping the scene monochromatic, to represent Shinji's inner emptiness.[13] Unlike "Angel Attack", Gainax conceived "The Beast" to have a non-linear narrative,[14] interspersed with continuous flashbacks and scene changes.[15][16] The staff used real brands in "The Beast" scenes, including a Mitsubishi Fuso truck,[17] a Sony Digital Audio Tape[18] and Yebisu beer.[19][20] Unlike other animes, the staff tried to create a strong integration between the backdrops and the moving objects on several levels for the battle against Sachiel.[21] To represent Sachiel's AT Field the main staff used special lighting effects, which appear and disappear for short frames.[22] Yoshinari took care of the battle scene, trying to draw the shoulders and face of the Eva-01 using rulers.[23] For the image of the Eva-01 destroying the AT Field, Hideaki Anno took inspiration from an image of tearing clothes, considering them as the most elementary form of protection for human beings; the concept was included in "The Beast" with no philosophical implications, and Anno eventually thought about its meaning as the "walls of the heart" during the production of the latter part of the series.[24] He also added the term Human Instrumentality Project, one of the most important concepts for the plot, by improvising and without having clear ideas about it. "I still had no idea about what it was going to 'complement'. ... It's just a verbal bluff", he said.[25]

Cultural references

The scene where Misato talks about air conditioning in a truck with Ritsuko is a reference to Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Gainax's previous work. Also, in the scene where Misato dines with Shinji in the apartment, the staff used the "Gainax bounce", a fan service that made the breasts of the female characters bounce conspicuously.[11] Tokyo-3 city is mentioned in "The Beast" for the first time. The name is a tribute to the spaceship Tokyo III from the movie Sayonara Jupiter (1984).[26] Historical and scientific concepts are also mentioned, such as the berserker of the Viking warriors for the Eva-01's battle[27] and the phase space in relation to Sachiel's AT Field.[28][29]

"The Beast" uses religious symbolism, including the Christian cross, for the Misato pendant and the Eva-00 cockpit.[30] Angel Sachiel explodes in the final scenes of the episode, forming a cross-shaped explosion. An official pamphlet states that the cross has the meaning as a symbol of death and self-sacrifice, although it's not clear which meaning the series follows.[31] The director of "The Beast", Kazuya Tsurumaki, said in an interview that Christian graphic symbols were used for artistic reasons by the main staff, because they were considered "cool" for the Japanese audience,[32] and they were intended to differentiate Neon Genesis Evangelion from other mecha animes.[33][34] According to the official booklets, the title "The Beast" can refer to the Angel Sachiel, the berserk Eva-01 or Shinji's hidden destructive impulses.[8] Official encyclopedia Evangelion Chronicle states that the title also references the Beast from the sea introduced in the Book of Revelation.[35]

Reception

Critics received Neon Genesis Evangelion's first two episodes positively, including Anime News Network[36][37] and Newtype magazine.[38] The episodes were screened in front of two hundred people at the second Gainax festival on 22 and 23 July 1995 in Itako, Ibaraki, few months after the airing.[39][40] According to Gainax co-founder Yasuhiro Takeda, the work received a positive reception.[41] The episode aired on 11 October 1995 and scored a 5.3% rating.[42][43] Max Covill (Film School Rejects) praised "The Beast"[44] as did animator Yūichirō Oguro, writing for Newtype magazine, who praised its animation.[45]

Anime News Network's Kyle Pope said, "The purpose of this episode was to establish the character of Misato which can be summed up in two words: alcoholic slut".[46] Jack Cameron of Screen Rant regarded Shinji's fight against Sachiel as one of the best Neon Genesis Evangelion fights.[47] Comic Book Resources' editor Ajay Aravind ranked it third among the best fights in the show.[48] SyFy Wire's Daniel Dockery listed it as one of the "most awesome non-depressing" moments in the show, since "there's just something awe-inspiring and terrifying and uncomfortable about watching an uncontrollable Eva unit".[49] Reuben Baron of Comic Book Resources also eulogized the battle, describing it as an example of the "warped brutality of Hideaki Anno's vision".[50] Noah Black (Mccagora) praised "The Beast" for the psychological portrait and the deepening of the relational dynamics between the series' characters.[51] Polygon's reviewer appreciated its mature tones and themes, saying it shows the responsibility and consequences of Shinji and his actions.[52]

References
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  2. Neon Genesis Evangelion Theatralical VHS Box Booklet (in Japanese). King Amusement Creative. 1997.
  3. Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). 18. Sony Magazines. p. 25.
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