As I have mentioned multiple times, Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) is one of my favourite anime of all time and since I have not looked at the show for a while on the podcast, I thought that it would be nice to take a break from our arc analyses and look closely at one of my favourite episodes in the medium, NGE Episode 9. In this episode I explore the idea of ‘maturity’, the hedgehog’s dilemma’s role in this part of the narrative and more. On the side, I contemplate as to whether I should watch the Berserk film trilogy, I share my thoughts on the new yuri shojo manga I have been reading (NTR: Netsuzou Trap) and chat a tiny bit about Fire Force.
THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE AND THE SHOW NOTES:
SHOW NOTES
Note from Jamal:
Hey All!
Thanks for reading the show notes. Apologies for putting this post out late – I had one of the busiest weeks I’ve ever had for a long time; the podcast will remain consistent though! Also, arc analyses for NGE will be continuing, I just wanted to take a bit of a break in between and zoom in on a specific area. Enjoy the show!
Maturity and Childishness: The are the two shows which are played with quite a lot in this episode; although this is probably one of the outlier episodes of the series, it still maintains the thematic depth that the show is known for. Asuka challenges the definition of maturity by labelling others as ‘immature’ and arguably proves her own maturity by being flexible enough to cooperate with Shinji where necessary (fitting the psychological definition of the word). Kaji contributes to the debate of what separates a child from an adult, suggesting that their credentials and pride get in the way (I was thinking this had hints of existentialist philosophy, but maybe that was too far). This episode makes the role of children even more important now that the concepts have been put into action.
Fun is Valuable: The other reason why I like this episode is simply because it is a load of fun. With the training sequence (animated by Masayuki) and the fight scene (one of my all-time favourites) working to make this episode exciting and thrilling, I cannot deny that this is one of my favourite episodes in the series as well as in the medium.
MUSIC IN THIS PRODUCTION:
Improvisation by Alex McCulloch
8Bit Title Screen by Joth
Mandatory Overtime by Joth
Difference by chasersgaming
Go Lucky by chasersgaming
“Anomaly”
by Eric Matyas
www.soundimage.org (Edited for Length)
RELEVANT LINKS:
Maturity (Psychological) (Wikepedia)
Masayuki (MyAnimeList)
Masayuki (SakugaBooru)
Mic Check, Waifu Waifu! (Podcast)
