History Recap / NeonGenesisEvangelionEpisode26TakeCareOfYourself

* AlternativeUniverse: Shinji is shown the life of another him in a more universe where the Evangelions and the Angels doesn't exist, to teach him that life always offers lots of possibilities and that finding happiness might be hard, but it isn't an impossible task for him. This universe takes the form of a parody of high school comedies, where Shinji is a more typical teenage protagonist who lives with both his parents, Asuka is his snarky childhood friend, and Rei is an energetic exchange student (and completely unlike the main universe Rei).

* LimitedAnimation: This episode is a clear indication that Gainax was ''really'' running out of time and money for the show by this point, as there are a lot of cut corners animation-wise; there's some RecycledAnimation (like the part where Misato flashes a peace sign at Shinji from the parking lot), the scene with Gendo and Yui hides their mouths so they don't have to animate mouth flaps, and some shots of characters aren't even completely finished and are simply sketches.

* LimitedAnimation: This episode is a clear indication that Gainax was ''really'' running out of money for the show by this point, as there are a lot of cut corners animation-wise; there's some RecycledAnimation (like the part where Misato flashes a peace sign at Shinji from the parking lot), the scene with Gendo and Yui hides their mouths so they don't have to animate mouth flaps, and some shots of characters aren't even completely finished and are simply sketches.

* HenpeckedHusband: Half of Gendo's lines in the AlternateUniverse is "Yes, dear."

* ShoutOut: The episode's second title is a pun upon and a reference to Creator/HarlanEllison's book and short story ''The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World''. The word used for "I" (a borrowing of the English word) is a homophone of the Japanese for "love."

* {{Parody}}: The AlternateUniverse segment is basically an extended parody of the Japanese High School Comedy genre.

The story reaches its conclusion as Shinji must decide whether to accept or reject Instrumentality.

It is the year 2016. Instrumentality is still ongoing. Everyone's minds are melding together and individual consciousness is fading. Shinji Ikari is just one of billions of people undergoing this process. The event will be explored from his perspective.

Shinji is faced with the fear of ceasing to exist. But Shinji considers that he maybe doesn't need to exist as he doesn't feel needed. He calls himself an unwanted child and says that no one really cares about him, thus telling himself that there is no reason to live. Misato counters by saying that Shinji is merely putting himself in the role of the victim and running away from the real issue. The real reason that he will stop existing is because he is cutting himself off from others in fear of being hurt. He fears the possibility of being hated by others and so he never initiates any kind of contact.

He accuses her of doing the same thing. Misato doesn't flinch at the statement and expounds on it by saying that, at their cores, all humans are like this. Every individual human lacks something in his or her mind. It causes loneliness and despair. This causes humans to seek out others and surround himself with others. However, every human is unique. Thus the void cannot be filled completely. Instrumentality will fill that void by removing individuality thus allowing all of mankind to fill and complement himself. Gendo states that this must be because there is no other way for man to live.

Shinji is asked about his existence. Different people ask these questions. Multiple people respond including Shinji himself. For whom do you exist? Asuka says that she exists for herself. Shinji isn't so sure. Are you happy being alive? Shinji doesn't know. Asuka scoffs at the possibility of feeling anything else. Misato says that she doesn't want to do anything but feel happy. Do you hate being sad? Shinji says he doesn't particularly like it. Is this why you run away? Misato says yes and asks why you shouldn't run away from something that hurts. Shinji, however, soon realizes that running away just gets you the chance to feel more pain later.

He then begins thinking that running away will lead people to stop respecting you. He begins to beg everyone to not leave him and to always stay by him. Ritsuko remarks that Shinji has once again started depending on others to keep him happy, calling that a sad survival mechanism. Shinji is hurt, asking what's wrong with it. Depending on others is better than being left alone. His view is that he is the only one hurting, a point of view that Kensuke, Toji, and Hikari counter by saying that everyone feels pain. It's just easier for Shinji to play the role of the victim.

Shinji pulls back and asks why he should care about any of that, telling everyone that he ''is'' worthless. He believes that no one accepts him and that is why he must pilot the Evangelion. Misato tells him that this is all ''his'' point of view. He says that he had no value before Eva. Eva forms his reason for existence. When he was a pilot, people praised him and it made him happy. Without his status as an Eva pilot, Shinji cannot seem to think that others like him. He reasons that everyone must hate him and that with Eva, he now has a way to gain their acceptance. Eva now forms part of his identity.

However, if Eva is allowed to be the one thing he depends on, then Eva will consume him. Eva will be his only definition and the "real" him will be erased. Shinji answers that he doesn't care, as he believes that he had nothing to begin with; even the cello lessons he took all came to nothing. Asuka answers that he only feels that way because he never took any initiative to make something of it. She warns him that, eventually, he won't be able to do anything without the Eva, like it happened to her. Finally, Shinji is asked why he pilots the Eva. "Because that is all I have," he answers.

So basically, Shinji wants to connect with others but is afraid of doing so because of the lack of value that he sees in himself. A vision of Yui tells him that this value cannot be given by others, and must be sought out by himself. This is why he chooses to pilot the Eva. Shinji doesn't know what he is without it.

As he starts to lose his definition of himself, the animation starts to degrade.

Rei tells him that who he is is not only defined by his physical form but also by the things around him. Things like his clothes, shoes, and room. They also serve as being parts of his identity. But he still can't see the big picture. Even if he knows what makes up his identity, he still can't tell what that all means when the parts are put together. He wails about no one being able to understand him. Asuka reprimands him for thinking that, saying that no one can possibly ''understand'' him. The only one who can understand him best is himself. But Shinji says that he can't even understand himself. Asuka, Rei, and Misato tell him that even if that is the case now, since the world is always changing, nothing is set in stone. Shinji can change and understand himself whenever he wishes.

Shinji floats inside a world of nothingness. An empty white void. A world with no obstacles and perfect freedom. Yet Shinji still feels uneasy. With no fixed points he has no way of orienting himself in this world, which, in practice, renders his perfect freedom meaningless. Gendo then steps in and places a restriction on the void, drawing a floor across it. Now Shinji feels easier. He has sacrificed a degree of his freedom, but in return he now knows what is up and down and has a clearly defined plane to move across. He is able to define his worldview however he wishes. However, he still lacks the ability to define himself because the void contains only himself. With no one else to interact with and recognize as someone different from himself, he can't shape himself.

Shinji then wakes up in a new world. A kind of happy and decisively more grounded world where there is no Angels, and thus no NERV and no Evangelions. In this world, Shinji is an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent average high school student]] (or rather, a somewhat stereotypical protagonist of a romantic SliceOfLife high-school comedy) and his parents are both alive and together, and Asuka is his oldest childhood friend. The morning of his day in this new world begins with being woken up by Asuka in time for school. Their dynamic is quickly established, as she physically forces the half-awake Shinji out of bed, only to shout agitated at him when discovering he has morning wood. Eventually the two get going and as they are heading the school, Shinji remembers something about a new transfer student coming in today (he wistfully expresses hope that she is cute, a comment that clearly annoys Asuka). The transfer student is actually Rei, who is frantically running with toast in her mouth, afraid she is going to be late for the first day. She slams into Shinji who (of course) gets a brief view of her panties in the process. Shinji, showing himself to be more confident and lecherous in this world, brags about it later to Toji and Kensuke, who are extremely envious. Just then, Kensuke discovers Misato, their teacher, driving up the parking space. The three (yes, Shinji included) stick their heads out the window, ogling her fine figure much to the chagrin of Asuka and Hikari. The class starts, and Misato begins by presenting the new student; Rei Ayanami, who introduces herself to the class. Suddenly, Rei realizes that Shinji is in the same class and calls him out as the panty peeper. Asuka rushes to his defense saying that Rei was the one flashing them. Her zeal is not unnoticed by Rei who aggressively asks if her and Shinji is an item. Asuka is embarrassed and frantically denies the notion. Hikari tries to re-establish order, but Misato proceeds to snark playfully at the debacle which causes the entire class to erupt in joined laughter.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. "I hate myself..." says Shinji as he considers this, before he, in unison with Asuka and Misato state "...but maybe I can learn to love myself." Shinji realizes that he is nothing more or less than himself, he wants to be himself, and it is okay for him to exist; he wants to exist. With this realization, the gloomy, cramped sound stage that Shinji has been trapped in, begins to crack before finally blowing apart, giving way to a bright blue sky.

Shinji finds himself surrounded by his friends, as well as his mother and father, who applauds and congratulates him, he smiles and thanks them.

!!Tropes

* CurtainCall: After Shinji achieves his epiphany, all of the named characters of the show appear and congratulates him, [[ThankingTheViewer and then congratulate you, dear viewer]].

* CurtainCall: After Shinji achieves his epiphany, all of the named characters of the show appear and congratulates him, and then congratulate you, dear viewer.

Shinji is faced with the fear of ceasing to exist. But Shinji considers with the way he feels about himself, he maybe doesn't need to exist. Rei asks him why, and Asuka answers for him: Shinji doesn't feel needed. Shinji calls himself an unwanted child and says that no one really cares about him, thus telling himself that there is no reason to live. Misato counters by saying that Shinji is merely putting himself in the role of the victim and running away from the real issue. The real reason that he will stop existing is because he is cutting himself off from others in fear of being hurt. He fears the possibility of being hated by others and so he never initiates any kind of contact.

Shinji is faced with the fear of ceasing to exist. But Shinji considers with the way he feels about himself, he maybe doesn't need to exist. He calls himself an unwanted child and says that no one really cares about him, thus telling himself that there is no reason to live. Misato counters by saying that Shinji is merely putting himself in the role of the victim and running away from the real issue. The real reason that he will stop existing is because he is cutting himself off from others in fear of being hurt. He fears the possibility of being hated by others and so he never initiates any kind of contact.

Shinji fears losing his reason for existence because he believes that he is worthless. He calls himself an unwanted child and says that no one really cares about him, thus telling himself that there is no reason to live. Misato counters by saying that Shinji is merely putting himself in the role of the victim and running away from the real issue. The real reason that he will stop existing is because he is cutting himself off from others in fear of being hurt. He fears the possibility of being hated by others and so he never initiates any kind of contact.

Shinji then wakes up in a new world. A kind of happy and decisively more grounded world where there is no Angels, and thus no NERV and no Evangelions. In this world, Shinji is an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent average high school student]] (or rather, a somewhat stereotypical protagonist of a romantic SliceOfLife high-school comedy) and his parents are both alive and together, and Asuka is his oldest childhood friend. The morning of his day in this new world begins with being woken up by Asuka in time for school. Their dynamic is quickly established, as she physically forces the half-awake Shinji out of bed, only to shout agitated at him when discovering he has morning wood. Eventually the two get going and Shinji remembers something about a new transfer student coming in today. The transfer student is actually Rei, who is frantically running with toast in her mouth, afraid she is going to be late for the first day. She slams into Shinji who (of course) gets a brief view of her panties in the process. Shinji, showing himself to be more confident and lecherous in this world, brags about it later to Toji and Kensuke, who are extremely envious. Just then, Kensuke discovers Misato, their teacher, driving up the parking space. The three (yes, Shinji included) stick their heads out the window, ogling her fine figure much to the chagrin of Asuka and Hikari. The class starts, and Misato begins by presenting the new student; Rei Ayanami, who introduces herself to the class. Suddenly, Rei realizes that Shinji is in the same class and calls him out as the panty peeper. Asuka rushes to his defense saying that Rei was the one flashing them. Her zeal is not unnoticed by Rei who aggressively asks if her and Shinji is an item. Asuka is embarrassed and frantically denies the notion. Hikari tries to re-establish order, but Misato proceeds to snark playfully at the debacle which causes the entire class to erupt in joined laughter.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. "I hate myself..." says Shinji, before he, in unison with Asuka and Misato state "...but maybe I can learn to love myself." Shinji realizes that he is nothing more or less than himself, he wants to be himself, and it is okay for him to exist; he wants to exist. With this realization, the gloomy, cramped sound stage that Shinji has been trapped in, begins to crack before finally blowing apart, giving way to a bright blue sky.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. "I hate myself..." says Shinji, before he, in unison with Asuka and Misato state that "...but maybe I can learn to love myself." Shinji realizes that he is nothing more or less than himself, he wants to be himself, and it is okay for him to exist; he wants to exist. With this realization, the gloomy, cramped sound stage that Shinji has been trapped in, begins to crack before finally blowing apart, giving way to a bright blue sky.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. "I hate myself," states Shinji, before he, in unison with Asuka and Misato states that "maybe I can learn to love myself." Shinji realizes that he is nothing more or less than himself, he wants to be himself, and it is okay for him to exist; he wants to exist. With this realization, the gloomy, cramped sound stage that Shinji has been trapped in, begins to crack before finally blowing apart, giving way to a bright blue sky.

Instrumentality is still ongoing. Everyone's minds are melding together and individual consciousness is fading. Shinji Ikari is just one of billions of people undergoing this process. Now ''he'' will be the focus of attention.

* NotSoDifferent: In the AlternativeUniverse, Yui remarks that Gendo is "just like Shinji."

* GainaxEnding: This episode or, more specifically, its ending is pretty much the [[TropeMaker Trope Maker]] for this. (Supported by [[https://youtu.be/4hzjuf686oA?t=1m50s this reaction]].)

* GainaxEnding: This episode or, more specifically, its ending is pretty much the [[TropeMaker Trope Maker]] for this. (Supported by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL8pvC3mxGo this reaction]].)

Shinji pulls back and asks why he should care about any of that, telling everyone that he ''is'' worthless. He believes that no one accepts him and that is why he must pilot the Evangelion. Misato tells him that this is all ''his'' point of view. He says that he had no value before Eva. Eva forms his reason for existence. Without his status as an Eva pilot, Shinji cannot seem to think that others like him. He reasons that everyone must hate him and that with Eva, he now has a way to gain their acceptance. Eva now forms part of his identity.

However, if Eva is allowed to be the one thing he depends on, then Eva will consume him. Eva will be his only definition and the "real" him will be erased. He says that he doesn't care because he never had any worth anyways.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. "I hate myself," states Shinji, before he, in unison with Asuka and Misato states that "maybe I can learn to love myself." Shinji realizes that he is nothing more or less than himself, he wants to be himself, and it is okay for him to exist; he wants to exist. With this realization, the gloomy, cramped sound stage that Shinji has been trapped, begins to crack before finally blowing apart, giving way to a bright blue sky.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. "I hate myself," states Shinji, before he, in unison with Asuka and Misato states that "maybe I can learn to love myself." Shinji realizes that he is nothing more or less than himself, he wants to be himself, and it is okay for him to exist; he wants to exist. With this realization, the gloomy, cramped sound stage that Shinji has been trapped in blows apart, giving way to a bright blue sky.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. "I hate myself," states Shinji, before he, in unison with Asuka and Misato states that "maybe I can learn to love myself." Shinji realizes that he is nothing more or less than himself, he wants to be himself, and it is okay for him to exist; he wants to exist. With this realization, Shinji's world begins to crack and the gloomy sound stage that he has been trapped in blows apart.

As the class begins to fade, Shinji is revealed to be holding the script to the entire scenario. It is different world that could have been. It is a different him inside that world. Yet both this new him and the him that is the Evangelion pilot are the same person. Both people could exist. Therefore, he can define himself in any way he wishes. All his feelings of inadequacy are really things Shinji has concocted in his own mind. As he comes to terms with this realization, Shinji's world begins to crack and the stage that he has been in blows apart.