Evangelion: Pen Pen, Asuka's underwear and all the easter eggs that Thrice Upon a Time left us
The Evangelion characters present themselves once again, but this time to say goodbye with Thrice Upon a Time. Of course, the film had already been released months ago in the country of the rising sun, but in the West things were a little different, and the tape has just arrived as an Amazon Prime Video exclusive. Without further delay, we leave you all the easter eggs and references that we find in the new Hideaki Anno film.
Hey, where's Pen Pen?
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance was the last movie in which we saw Pen Pen, the tropical water penguin owned by Misato. Most likely, this character died during the almost-Third Impact caused by Shinji, but Thrice Upon a Time wanted to lighten our hearts a little by showing us this species on screen again. Who knows: maybe Pen Pen survived and grew up with other birds like him on some island with a temperate climate.
Tropical penguins survived near-Third Impact | Image: Khara
Get stuck that there is fanservice
One thing that has characterized Neon Genesis Evangelion and all the products that have emanated from this series for years is the constant fanservice ecchi of its female characters. Thrice Upon a Time not only could not be the exception: it had to be the tape with the most scenes of Asuka or Rei in underwear. This will certainly distract the viewer, which can be seen as a negative or positive point depending on who is looking at it.
A constant throughout the film | Image: Khara
Using warships as projectiles since time immemorial
We all remember the scene from The End of Evangelion where Asuka used a warship to wipe out the Seele's militia. Well, Thrice Upon a Time paid tribute to this moment by showing us Misato, aboard the AAA Wunder, launching several warships as projectiles against Evangelion 13. The old ways in Evangelion drawings are never lost.
Old ways are never lost | Image: Khara
Asuka and Shinji make peace
The conclusion of The End of Evangelion is one of the most depressing scenes the anime industry has been able to deliver: Shinji on Asuka, suffocating her. In Thrice Upon a Time Shinji has wanted to make peace with Asuka, and in a scene quite similar to the last one in The End of Evangelion, Ikari was able to tell the EVA 02 pilot what she has really felt forever. disheartening.
From love to hate, and from hate to love… | Image: Khara
Ritsuko's Shot
Ritsuko Akagi may not have had much character development in Thrice Upon a Time, but that didn't stop her from starring in one of the most tense scenes in the entire film. We refer to the moment when the Doctor shot Gendo Ikari: a tribute to the scene that was shown to us in The End of Evangelion.
Who would waste an opportunity to shoot Gendo Ikari? | Image: Khara
SPOILER ALERT: Asuka's nature
One of the great revelations of this film, and something that substantially differentiates it from the manga and the first part of the Evangelion anime, is the fact that Asuka it is a clone like Rei Ayanami. In the film they give us to understand that there was a primal Asuka, and that it was from her that the human copies that would be used to pilot Evangelion Units began to be made. Likewise, it was confirmed to us that Asuka shares the nature of angels, a consequence of having been a test pilot for Unit 03.
One of the biggest character changes | Image: Khara
SPOILER ALERT: And what happened to the Nebuchadnezzar Key?
Do you remember the Nebuchadnezzar Key that Kaji stole for Gendo and was shown to us in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance? ? We never heard from her again, seeming like a loose end in the Hideaki Anno story. The truth is that this object played a fundamental role in Thrice Upon a Time, and if we didn't see it on the screen it was because it was already part of the body of the NERV Commander. That's right: the Key of Nebuchadnezzar was what gave Gendo his angelic nature, much like the embryonic Adam in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The power-up that the antagonist of the series needed | Image: Khara
SPOILER ALERT: And Everyone Lived Happily Ever After
Thrice Upon a Time is not a fairy tale, and yet the film could offer us an ending in which everyone could be happy . You may not have noticed, but several of the characters that starred in the series also appeared in the final sequence of the film as secondary characters waiting for the arrival of the train. Asuka, Rei, Kaworu: they all seem to now live a normal life, oblivious to the destructive and alienating world of the Evangelions.
Did they live happily ever after? | Image: Khara
Thrice Upon a Time is the conclusion that fans of Hideaki Anno's work have been waiting for for almost ten years. Many of us grew up with the Evangelion characters, and having seen them grow and mature, becoming better versions of themselves, certainly results in a cathartic process for the viewer as well. Bye-bye all of Evangelion!
And you, did you notice all these references in Thrice Upon a Time?
***
Don't miss the best content of Código Spaghetti on YouTube.
