Episode 10: Magma Diver
In all honesty, this episode isn't very good. Maybe it's because the last episode was phenomenal or because this episode feels like a reason to strech the series by an episode. Regardless, there are a few good character moments, which make the episode worth watching.
The episode starts with Kaji and Asuka shopping for swimwear and Asuka shamelessly trying to flirt with Kaji. She says she needs swimwear for her class trop to Okinawa where they will learn scuba diving. Her hopes of scuba diving are dashed when she returns home and Misato says both her and Shinji have to stay on standby in case the Angels attack. Asuka says they should just take the battle to the Angel's base but Misato says NERV doesn't know where the Angels come from. In addition, Asuka's grades are low and Misato believes she should work on improving them. Later, Asuka, Shinji and Rei spend time at the NERV pool and Asuka helps Shinji with his homework, teaching him how heat causes things to contract and cold causes things to expand. She also reveals that in Germany she has completed college and knows most of what is taught in Japanese high schools. Meanwhile, NERV is studying a volcano where they find the 8th Angel dormant and realize there is a chance to recieve a rare Angel specimen. An A-17 order is issued which means that the Angel egg must be retrieved no matter the cost. Asuka and her Unit 02 are sent in Type D armor (which can be found in the video game Final Fantasy 7 as a nod to EVA), which will allow extra protection to retrieve the 8th Angel from the extremely warm volcano.
While the EVA 02 is lowered into the volcano, with EVA 01 as a guard, Kaji meets a mysterious lasy (who has a cat). She asks him why she allowed the A-17 to occur and Kaji says he has no reason to stop them because the world would end if they failed. In the volcano Asuka is able to capture the Angel but it suddenly hatches and attacks the 02. Asuka barely defeats it and when she does win, the cord that kept her up snaps and she believes she will die. At the last moment EVA 01 saves her and the pilots go to hot springs as a reward for their victory. It's a pretty hilarious segment as the women are on one side of the fence and Shinji shares the other side with Pen Pen. Shinji hears the girls (and Misato) giggling and washing each other and he "expands". At the end, Asuka and Misato talk and the Captain admits she knows about her past and that it doesn't matter anymore.
If this review sounded lame, it was because the episode is fairly lame. The battle wasn't too exciting and the character moments weren't as fun. There were two exceptions to this: Kaji talking to the cat lady and Misato assuring Asuka. Kaji's loyalties are thrown into question and it reminds me that last episode he mentioned he was "ordered" to stay at NERV. But who ordered him? The very last scene with Misato was a great way to conclude the episode and build anticipation for revelations about Asuka's past. Overall it was a dissapointing episode but still better than 99% of the anime that is available.
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