MovieChat Forums > Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Shito shinsei (1997) Discussion > Concert Timeline

Concert Timeline

posted 20 years ago by ragg_adam
9 replies | jump to latest

Ok, I'm probably a minority here, but I've sat and puzzled it and I really can't think chronologically where the scenes involving the Eva children practicing for a concert fits in with the timeline of the series. Many sources have claimed that it really is in fact an event that occurs in the series, or is meant to, and happens shortly before everything goes completely insane in Episode 24, although it kinda happened before that anyway.

To start off I thought that Kaworu was Kaji, (the English dub of both characters is done by the same guy, so it ent hard to make that mistake, plus you don't see his face or indeed much of the rest of him in that short segment,) which would have made it easier to place it chronologically in the series. However, due to the presence of all four children,(not including Toji, who was a pilot for all of a matter of 30 seconds before his Eva went ape-*beep* and consequently got him smooshed by Unit 01, and, as far as we can gather, has no musical talent what-so-ever,) all in moods typical of their characters for the majority of their performances in the series,(Shinji just getting on with it, Asuka showing off, and our two favorite clones/semi-supreme beings being placid and quiet,) produces a sequence which, in theory, should not occur in the series if it was an actual event that took place in it, for reasons that should be all too obvious.

The only assumption I can really make is that it never 'happened' in the purist sense, i.e. with all the characters taking a break from their scenes of human drama and traumatisation, meeting up in an old school gym or auditorium late one afternoon and practicing for a concert that none of them would be seen performing in at a school that no longer had any students because they had all left, and was in fact, like the scenes in the auditorium in the final episodes where Shinji is facing his own inner torment, and is a prelude to the destruction that occurs in the final act of the Eva Saga, End of Eva. Well that's my own take on it. Anyone got any better ideas? I'm serious, tell me if you do.

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[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] northrnpilchard 20 years ago

I thought it was just a lighthearted way of introducing each character in turn during the irritating whistle-stop tour of the series that is 'Death'. The DVD commentary mentions that, in theory, all four of the eva pilots were in Tokyo 3 at the same time, but i think it didn't happen in the story itself for several reasons:

1. At this point, Asuka is in a bad way, having been defeated by an angel more than once and is unlikely to be in any fit state to hang out with Shinji and Rei to play some classical music. She can't stand Rei, and gets p***ed off at Shinji on a regular basis. Not the kind of person to perform music with others.

2. Kaoru (or Kowaru, not sure how his name is spelt) is killed very soon after his arrival at Tokyo 3, although the series does not say precisely how long. Therefore, unless he stays for a while before embarking on his trip to Central Dogma with Unit 2, he would not have had time to join the Tokyo 3 junior high school, let alone its string quartet.

3. Even if Kaworu does have time to rehearse and play along with the other three pilots, he would be the only angel to be present in Tokyo 3 without heading to Central Dogma as soon as he arrives. That said, Unit 2 would need to have her arms and head reattached in between the last angel's arrival and Kaworu's.

4. There is no evidence that any of the Eva pilots apart from Shinji knows how to play a musical instrument. At least, neither Asuka or Rei appear to own one (lets face it, Rei's room is so run-down and bare a violin would sure as hell stand out in there) and never seem to practice. Unless a high sync ratio also gives an innate musical ability.

OK, i've been thinking about this too much and it's time i went to bed. In conclusion, the string quartet parts were a good excuse to hear some really nice classical music.

[–] env_warby 20 years ago

isn t asuka allready "DOWN" when kaworu arrives ?!

[–] theunbeholden 16 years ago

1. At this point, Asuka is in a bad way, having been defeated by an angel more than once and is unlikely to be in any fit state to hang out with Shinji and Rei to play some classical music. She can't stand Rei, and gets p***ed off at Shinji on a regular basis. Not the kind of person to perform music with others.

Could have happened just before Asuka was emitted into the hospital. Asuka wants to be the best at everything so I actually always thought of her to be able to play a musical instrument (and try to be better then everyone else at it).

2. Kaoru (or Kowaru, not sure how his name is spelt) is killed very soon after his arrival at Tokyo 3, although the series does not say precisely how long. Therefore, unless he stays for a while before embarking on his trip to Central Dogma with Unit 2, he would not have had time to join the Tokyo 3 junior high school, let alone its string quartet.

I'm guessing it was one week prior to him venturing into central dogma. you have no idea how much time passes, and because Kauro is the same age as the other pilots, which means there's a very high chance Kauro was enlisted in the school there and in the same classes/ quartet.

Its Pronouced Kaoru, but its spelled Kaworu.

Kaworu was named by screenplay writer Akio Satsukawa.Kaworu's surname "Nagisa" comes from the Japanese word "nagisa", meaning "waterside" or "shore," concerned with sea. It also comes from Japanese movie director Nagisa Oshima

Gainax renders his name in Romaji as "Kaworu," not "Kaoru" as would be given by most romanization schemes. The reasons for the difference in the naming have not been explicitly detailed by the series' creators; one theory is that the name is based on the original kana of the name Kaoru Genji, from The Tale of Genji (as its a very popular Japanese name).

3. Even if Kaworu does have time to rehearse and play along with the other three pilots, he would be the only angel to be present in Tokyo 3 without heading to Central Dogma as soon as he arrives. That said, Unit 2 would need to have her arms and head reattached in between the last angel's arrival and Kaworu's.

Kaoru may be a Angel, but hes in a human form, remember that hes "The Messenger" angel, hes supposed to interact with human beings.

The title of episode 24 is "Saigo no shisha". translation is (The Final Apostle, The Final Dead or The Final Messenger)"

4. There is no evidence that any of the Eva pilots apart from Shinji knows how to play a musical instrument.

True but there's no evidence to say they don't either.

At least, neither Asuka or Rei appear to own one (lets face it, Rei's room is so run-down and bare a violin would sure as hell stand out in there) and never seem to practice. Unless a high sync ratio also gives an innate musical ability.

So it wasn't visible in her room, perhaps she keeps it at school and doesn't practice it at home. Or the violin was there except she kept it under her bed, in the bathroom or somewhere else where it wasn't in view.

[–] pyroko 19 years ago

If you have the DVD edition, listen to the commentry. I beleive it's stated on it that the "rehearsal" scene actually took place, just a few weeks prior to the events of the first episode of the series.

[–] northrnpilchard 19 years ago

I beleive it's stated on it that the "rehearsal" scene actually took place, just a few weeks prior to the events of the first episode of the series.

that can't possibly have happened. none of the children knew each other then, let alone went to the same school. it was just a very pleasant way of linking the parts of the 'death' story together.

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[–] Ishijima_Logan 19 years ago

There are two explanations provided in the DVD commentary. The first, as put forth by by Amanda Winn, is that the rehearsal scenes take place in an alternate reality - perhaps the same one briefly glimpsed in the last two episodes of the series - and are merely an attempt to show how different the central characters' lives could have been. Personally, I would be inclined to agree with this view.
The second is provided by one of the other contributors to the commentary (either Jason Lee or Taliesin Jaffe, I can't remember which one) who states that these scenes do indeed fall within the continuity of the series. According to him, the rehearsal would have occured about a week before Kaoru was revealed to be an Angel. It should be noted, however, that he himself cannot even remember where he heard of this theory - he simply states that it was "something from Japan". It could even have been idle fan speculation which was picked up somewhere along the line. It does seem to be a rather unlikely explanation, since none of the characters in the series had previously shown any musical proficiency whatsoever.

[–] northrnpilchard 19 years ago

i agree with you on that one. Shinji's pretty good on the cello though.

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[–] Taiichi 19 years ago

I took the concrt practice as an allegory of the chronology for the regular series. Watch the pieces again, and check out the following:

1 - Which practice piece each one plays.

2 - Their order of appearance. (I know Asuka appears before Rei here, but Rei becomes greatly important well after Asuka first appears in the regular series.)

3 - The "time" before "opening curtain" for each character.

4 - Dialogue.

Asuka: "You're Late!!"
Kaoru: "Sorry, sorry!"

-T1-