There’s a lot of subtleties in 3.0, one of them being how Anno uses spacials and dialogue to show how the main cast has undergone an implicit generational shift. Misato takes on a role that was originally Gendo’s (emphasized further with her visual upgrade, unfeeling shades and all), and Ritsuko takes on a role that was originally Fuyutsuki’s – others have already pointed out that this “evolution” was quietly alluded to during 2.0. (And by extension, Gendo and Fuyutsuki has taken on SEELE’s role upon SEELE’s demise, Asuka has taken on Misato’s role, Mari has taken on Kaji’s role, so on and so forth.)
It’s hard to say what this means for 3.0+1.0 – especially in reference to Misato and Shinji’s now-broken dynamic – but it’s definitely worth noting (and speculating) on.
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