Rei I

{{good article}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox television episode | series = Neon Genesis Evangelion | image = Rei I.jpg | image_size = | caption = The scene of Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami arguing on the escalator. The image lasts more than thirty seconds and has been analyzed by anime critics. | season = | episode = 5 | production = | writer = Hideaki Anno, Akio Satsukawa | director = Keiichi Sugiyama | airdate = {{Start date|1995|11|01}} | guests = | length = 22 minutes | prev = Hedgehog's Dilemma | next = Rei II | episode_list = List of Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes }} "'''Rei I'''", also known by the Japanese title {{nihongo foot|"'''Rei, Beyond the Heart'''",|レイ、心のむこうに|Rei, kokoro no mukō ni|group=lower-alpha|lead=yes}} is the fifth episode of the anime ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', which was created by Gainax. "Rei I" was written by Hideaki Anno and Akio Satsukawa, and directed by Keiichi Sugiyama. It was first broadcast on TV Tokyo on November 1, 1995. The series is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm named Second Impact, mostly in the futuristic, fortified city called Tokyo-3. The episode's protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo into the organization Nerv to pilot a giant bio-machine mecha named Evangelion to combat certain beings called Angels. In the episode, Shinji tries, but fails, to connect with Rei Ayanami, a fellow pilot, who is close to his distant and cold father Gendo.

When it was first broadcast, "Rei I" scored a 7.2% rating of audience share on Japanese TV. The episode won popularity polls and was praised by critics, who appreciated the introduction of Rei's character and her mysteriousness. Scientific concepts are mentioned in the installment, which contains cultural references to DNA, nitrogenous bases and wave-particle duality. "Rei I" contains references to earlier fictional works as well, such as ''The Andromeda Strain'' and ''Sailor Moon''. The laconic attitude of Rei's character has also been linked by critics to the Japanese socio-cultural situation, in particular with the generation born in the seventies and with a martyr complex. Critics analyzed Rei's home as well, comparing it to buildings of postwar Japan. Merchandise based on the episode has also been released by Gainax.

==Plot== The episode opens with a flashback to twenty-two days before. Rei Ayanami, the pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion, is subjected with her Unit 00 to a test by operatives of the special agency Nerv. During the test, Eva-00 malfunctions, smashing the walls and windows of the room before eventually coming to a stop. Rei's cockpit is ejected during the emergency; Gendo Ikari, commander of Nerv, runs to open the cabin to make sure of Rei's status. The pilot, though injured, is still alive and conscious, while Gendo burns his palm and drops and damages his glasses.

In the present, Shinji Ikari, pilot of Unit 01, notices that Rei is always alone at school but appears to have a good relationship with his father Gendo, who instead is cold towards him. Shinji is tasked with delivering the new Nerv ID card to Rei and heads to her apartment. Finding the door unlocked and open, the boy enters, and happens upon his father's damaged old glasses, which Rei is storing on her nightstand as a keepsake. Being distracted by the glasses, Shinji is taken by surprise when he accidentally bumps into a naked Rei, who just had a shower, and ends up tripping and landing on top of her in a fit of panic. Rei does not flinch at the awkwardness of the situation, and proceeds to stoically ignore her colleague and put her underwear on as he frantically tries to apologize and explain himself. Rei is later subjected to a new test with Eva-00, which is interrupted by an attack by a new enemy, the fifth Angel Ramiel. Shinji exits with Eva-01 to intercept the Angel, who fires a particle cannon hitting the mecha's chest. Shinji screams in pain as Eva-01's chest begins to melt from the heat.

==Production== thumb|upright=0.9|''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' director Hideaki Anno

According to an official ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' booklet, the fourth episode "Hedgehog's Dilemma" was once omitted in terms of the series composition and it was planned that "Rei I" would come after the third, "A Transfer".<ref name="Platinum Booklet">{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum Edition Booklet |volume=1 |publisher=ADV}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Alessandra |last=Poggio |language=it |year=2008 |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Encyclopedia |publisher=Dynit |page=11}}</ref> After the battle against Angel Shamshel, Shinji would become friends with his classmates Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida in the third episode, receiving a call from them. As production progressed, however, staff members said they thought there was a need to depict Shinji's relationships with the people around him after the third episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama37.shtml|title=第37回 エヴァ雑記「第四話 雨、逃げ出した後」|language=ja|access-date=July 23, 2020|first=Yūichirō|last=Oguro|archive-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010182014/http://style.fm/as/05_column/animesama37.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Eva Tomo no Kai|volume=2 |publisher=Gainax |language=ja|date=1996}}</ref> ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' director Hideaki Anno was also stuck after writing the script for the first episode, "Angel Attack", which took half a year to complete,<ref name=Production/> so he wrote "Rei I" and the sixth episode "Rei II" before the third and the fourth.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=庵野秀明 - Part II|title=新世紀エヴァンゲリオン残酷な天使のように|publisher=Magazine Magazine|language=ja|date=1997|isbn=4-906011-25-X|page=31}}</ref><ref name=Animage>{{cite journal|script-title=ja:あんた、バカぁと、言われてみたい。（庵野秀明、宮村優子）|language=ja|date=July 1996|journal=Animage|publisher=Tokuma Shoten}}</ref> For production reasons, the post-recording dubbing followed the same order.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama34.shtml |title=第34回 エヴァ雑記「第壱話 使徒、襲来」 |language=ja |access-date=July 23, 2020 |first=Yūichirō |last=Oguro |archive-date=December 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225100132/http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama34.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1993 Gainax wrote a presentation document of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' named {{nihongo|''New Century Evangelion (tentative name) Proposal''|新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (仮) 企画書|Shinseiki Evangelion (kari) kikakusho|}} to find potential sponsors for the series,<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=1 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 2: La Proposition}}</ref> with the basic plot of the episode already programmed.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Gainax|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection|date=1998|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|isbn=4-04-852700-2|page=88}}</ref>{{sfn|Marine|2021|p=63}} The ''Proposal'' document was then published in 1994.<ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Lancement du Project Eva}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |date=2021 |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia |chapter=History 1993-1999}}</ref> The Japanese title "Rei, Beyond Her Heart" was also planned.<ref>{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Theatralical VHS Box Booklet|language=ja|publisher=King Amusement Creative|date=1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=18 |page=25|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref> Akio Satsukawa{{sfn|Porori |2009 |p=66}}<ref name=Production>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Production et catastrophes}}</ref> and Hideaki Anno<ref>{{Cite book |first=Alessandra |last=Poggio |language=it |year=2008 |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Encyclopedia |publisher=Dynit |page=20}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=42 |page=23 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref> wrote the episode; Anno also worked on Ramiel's design.<ref name=Anges>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 2: Les Anges}}</ref> Jun'ichi Satō did the storyboards with the pseudonym of Kiichi Jinme,<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=42 |page=29 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref>{{sfn|Marine|2021|p=88}} Keiichi Sugiyama served as director<ref>{{Cite book|author=Gainax|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection|date=1998|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|isbn=4-04-852700-2|page=178}}</ref> and Masahiko Ohtsuku as assistant director.<ref>{{cite book |title=Data of Evangelion|publisher=Gainax|page=21|language=ja|year=2003|editor=Gainax}}</ref> Shunji Suzuki worked as chief animator,{{sfn|Cannarsi|1998 |p=12}}<ref>{{cite book|language=ja|title=Groundwork of Evangelion|volume=1|date=2000|isbn=4903713008|publisher=Gainax|page=217|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/a/ac/Groundwork_of_EVANGELION_VOL.1_JP.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026214136/https://retrocdn.net/images/a/ac/Groundwork_of_EVANGELION_VOL.1_JP.pdf|archive-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> while Seiji Kio served as setting assistant.<ref>{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Staff}}</ref>

Once the first part of Shinji's character arc was over in the previous episodes, the director decided to focus on Rei Ayanami in the two installments that followed.<ref>{{cite book|language=ja|title=ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序 全記録全集ビジュアルストーリー版・設定 資料版|publisher=Khara|date=2008|chapter=庵野 秀明 Interview}}</ref> During the production, Anno encountered difficulties writing the character, not feeling "particularly interested" nor relating to her, but he thought of her as a representation of his unconscious mind.<ref name=Production/> He also said that during production he forgot about her existence, giving her just a marginal space.<ref>{{cite book|title=Anno Hideaki Parano Evangerion|first=Kentaro|last= Takekuma|publisher=Ōta Shuppan|date= 1997|isbn=4-87233-316-0|language=ja|pages=93–96}}</ref> In the fifth episode, explicitly dedicated to her character, Rei speaks seven lines and fifty-two words in the whole installment.{{sfn|Cannarsi|1998 |pp=32-33}}<ref name=Tomo/> Her storyline also changed. In the second draft of the scenario for the first episode, it was planned for Rei to rescue Shinji with an Eva. According to ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki, the tentative plot would have given a valid reason for Shinji to choose to get on 01, thinking that Rei was hurt because of him, but the storyline was changed. A final scenario, in which Rei is injured during a botched Eva-00 test, was then considered.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kentaro |first=Takekuma |title=Anno Hideaki Parano Evangerion|language=ja |year=1997 |publisher=Ōta Shuppan |isbn=4-87233-316-0 |chapter=シンジはなぜ乗ったか（１）|pages=157–158}}</ref> Moreover, the idea of Gendo's glasses being broken during the test was provided by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the character designer of the series.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kentaro |first=Takekuma |title=Anno Hideaki Parano Evangerion|language=ja |year=1997 |publisher=Ōta Shuppan |isbn=4-87233-316-0 |page=136}}</ref>

While the scene where Shinji enters Rei's room was done in the typical style of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', the scene where Rei is described as a normal girl was done in the style of Jun'ichi Satō, who previously worked on the ''Sailor Moon'' series. In the meal scene between Misato Katsuragi, Ritsuko Akagi, and Shinji, Misato was represented taking inspiration from Usagi Tsukino, the protagonist of ''Sailor Moon''. In the same scene, staff inserted graphic and humorous symbols on the characters' heads taking inspiration from the ''shōjo'' manga{{sfn|Cannarsi|1998 |p=17}} and ''Sailor Moon''.<ref name=Oguro>{{cite web|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama38.shtml|title=第38回 エヴァ雑記「第伍話 レイ、心のむこうに」|language=ja|access-date=July 23, 2020|first=Yūichirō|last=Oguro|archive-date=October 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020091456/http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama38.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, Sato tried to represent the scene in which Shinji is discovered in Rei's room by imitating the style of Leiji Matsumoto. He also wanted to add more details to the description of daily life, but Anno thought it would be excessive.<ref name=Sato>{{cite web|language=ja|url=http://animestyle.jp/2021/03/15/19269/|title=佐藤順一の昔から今まで （15）「レイ、心のむこうに」と「ネルフ、誕生」|publisher=Anime Style|website=Animestyle.jp|date=15 March 2021 |access-date=2021-05-19|archive-date=2021-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519205141/http://animestyle.jp/2021/03/15/19269/|url-status=live}}</ref> Anno only gave the instruction to represent Rei's room as a "bleak room", and to represent it Akio Satsukawa was inspired by a flat he saw when he worked as a part-time plumber.<ref name=Production/> It was easy for Satsukawa to write "Rei I", and the final product did not differ much from the initial draft he wrote.<ref>{{cite journal|title=薩川昭夫インタビュー|journal=QuickJapan|volume=17|date=December 1997|language=ja|publisher=Ohta Publishing|isbn=4872333632}}</ref> Animator and screenwriter Mitsuo Iso had the idea of adding a rainbow to the scene.{{sfn|Iso|2023|p=137}} Iso chose it because since ancient times it had been considered a symbol of the path to Heaven and the Convenant between Man and God.{{sfn|Iso|2023|p=159}} In the original project, Rei would have eaten the flesh of an ancient ruin located in the depths of Nerv, Arqa, as in Daijiro Morohoshi's ''Koushi Ankoku''. In her room in Arqa, there would have been many glasses, so as to create rainbows, flasks, and test tubes, German technical books, the Old Testament, and many toys—none of which, however, were human-shaped. In her apartment, there would also have been the symbol of the Essenes and an object representing the Tree of Life, similar to the Devil Tower in Steven Spielberg's ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' (1977). Iso also specified that "blood-stained eye bandage should be clearly identified as such, or a lot of numbskulls will get the wrong idea".{{sfn|Iso|2023|p=138}} Jin Yamanoi and Yuko Miyamura voiced the unnamed Nerv technical operators in the episode, Koichi Nagano and Hiro Yuki played two boys from Shinji's school,<ref name=Tomo>{{cite book |title=Eva Tomo no Kai|volume=3 |publisher=Gainax |language=ja|date=1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Data of Evangelion|publisher=Gainax|page=62|language=ja|year=2003|editor=Gainax}}</ref> while Megumi Hayashibara, Rei's Japanese voice actress, sang a version of ''Fly Me to the Moon'' named "Rei #5"<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=26 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Edition Booklet |volume=4|chapter=Fly Me to the Moon |publisher=ADV}}</ref> used as the ending theme.{{sfn|Cannarsi|1998 |p=20}}<ref>{{cite book|language=ja|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Laserdisc Encyclopedia|volume=3|date=1996}}</ref>

== Cultural references, style and themes == [[File:Rei I 2.png|thumb|upright=0.9|Rei's apartment with blood stains and pill bottles has been compared with the Satyam, scientific laboratories of Aum Shinrikyō, and the works of artist Damien Hirst.]] "Rei I" makes reference to scientific and biological concepts. During the incident where Eva-00 malfunctioned, for example, the Nerv use a special bakelite{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=120}} to block the Eva units,<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=19 |page=20|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|year=1997|title=The End of Evangelion Theatrical Pamphlet|publisher=Gainax|language=ja|chapter=用語集}}</ref> named after the homonymous phenol formaldehyde resin.<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=25 |pages=25–26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=用語集|title=Death & Rebirth Program Book|date=1997|language=ja|edition=Special}}</ref> In the following scenes, Dr. Ritsuko talks about the Angels similarity with humans;<ref>{{cite book|title=Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|year=2005|language=ja|page=37}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=February 1996|page=19|language=ja|title=謎の深淵}}</ref> she analyzes the body of the fourth Angel, Shamshel, and its wave spectrum, finding it similar to the human gene.<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=42 |page=31|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref> The words "pattern: blue" appears on her computer screen, since Angel's matter has a wavelength corresponding to that of blue light. On another screen also appears a map of human DNA, with the letters A, C, G and T, corresponding to the nitrogenous bases — adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine.{{sfn|Cannarsi|1998 |p=15}} According to Ritsuko, although there are differences in constituent materials, the two maps have the same waveform pattern{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=57}} and their signal arrangement and coordinates are 99.89% matched.<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=42 |page=27|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref>{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=46}} The book {{nihongo|''Evangelion Glossary''|エヴァンゲリオン用語事典 |Evangerion Yougo Jiten}} by Yahata Shoten noticed how the number is higher than the percentage of genetic similarity between humans and monkeys.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=16}} For academic Philip Brophy this means Angels are more terrestrial than extraterrestrial and "more than mere Others".<ref>{{cite book|first=Philip |last=Brophy|chapter=Extra-Musical Sonic Environments / 2: Sonic Embedment and Spatial "Worlding". Soundscapes, Psychoacoustics, and Post-Human Sonics in Shinseiki Evangelion|title=The Palgrave Handbook of Music and Sound in Japanese Animation|publisher=Palgrave Macmillian|date=2024|editor=Marco Pellitteri|isbn=9789819704293|p=520}}</ref> Japanese magazine ''Animage'' linked this resemblance to the traditional Christian angelic hierarchy in Thomas Aquinas ''Summa Theologica'' or ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, according to which angels occupy the lowest rank of the celestial hierarchy and are therefore the closest to humankind.<ref>{{cite book|title=Animage|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|date=April 1997|page=6|language=ja}}</ref>

Ritsuko observes that the composition of the Angels appears to have both wave and particle properties, just as light does; ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' manga English edition editor Carl Gustav Horn noted that the photons through which the electromagnetic spectrum is expressed have similar features.<ref>{{cite book|first=Carl Gustav|last=Horn|chapter=Secrets of Evangelion|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 Edition|volume=2|date=2013|publisher=Viz Media|isbn=978-1-4215-5305-4|url=https://www.evamonkey.com/writings/horn-carl-secrets-of-evangelion-special-dossier-section-volume-5.php|access-date=2021-05-14|archive-date=2021-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510143906/https://www.evamonkey.com/writings/horn-carl-secrets-of-evangelion-special-dossier-section-volume-5.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Writers Kazuhiza Fujie and Martin Forster similarly likened Ritsuko's statement to the wave-particle duality of quantum materials.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fujie|first1=Kazuhisa|last2=Foster|first2=Martin|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide|year=2004|publisher=DH Publishing, Inc.|location=United States|isbn=0-9745961-4-0|page=27}}</ref> In the same scene, a "code 601" appears on the computer screen, indicating the improbability of analysis. The code is a tribute to a similar scene from ''The Andromeda Strain'' (1971), based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton.<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=29 |page=20|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref>{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=172}} Furthermore, in the first Eva-00 experiment scene, the English writing "Border Line" can be read on the Nerv monitors, indicating an absolute limit beyond which the Eva unit and its pilot are synchronized;<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=12 |page=22|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref>{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=149}} according to writer Alexandre Marine, the Border Line can be linked to the borderline personality disorder, which leads sufferers to be prone to suicide or fits of rage.{{sfn|Marine|2021|p=87}} {{multiple image | footer = Rei Ayanami's building has been compared to the ''danchi'', large clusters of apartment buildings or houses typical of postwar Japan. | image1 = Takashimadaira housing development.jpg | align = left | alt1 = | caption1 = | width1 = 190 | image2 = Mitsubishi coal mine Company housing-05.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = | width2 = 194 }} ''Evangelion'' assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki pointed out the "distant, awkward communication" between Shinji and Rei on one hand, and Shinji and his father on the other in the first episodes, describing ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' as a story about communication.<ref>{{cite book|language=ja|date=1997|editor=Gainax|chapter=Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion Pamphlet}}</ref> In "Rei I", Shinji discovers that his cold father Gendo cares for Rei;<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion|magazine=Animerica |volume=4 |issue=12 |publisher=Viz Media |year=1996 |page=9}}</ref> he then tries to communicate and establish a relationship with her, but Rei refuses to open up to him<ref>{{cite web|language=ja|access-date=11 May 2021|url=https://news.mynavi.jp/kikaku/20210303-1761863/|title=アニメ「新世紀エヴァンゲリオン」の動画を今すぐ全話無料視聴できる公式動画配信サービス���とめ！|date=3 March 2021|website=News.mynavi.jp|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511115656/https://news.mynavi.jp/kikaku/20210303-1761863/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|language=ja|access-date=11 May 2021|url=http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/eva/story.html|title=Story|publisher=Gainax|website=Gainax.co.jp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040901014055/http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/eva/story.html|archive-date=1 September 2004}}</ref> and does not understand the meaning of his actions.{{sfn|Cannarsi|1998 |pp=35-36}} Justin Wu from ''The Artifice'' noted how it is revealed that all records of Rei's past have been erased from the database of Nerv and this "generates the sense of mysteriousness surrounding the character"; Wu also noted that before ''Evangelion'' mysterious characters were people with a twisted and often tragic past, while Rei is presented as a girl with no past.<ref>{{cite web|author=Justin Wu|url=http://the-artifice.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-rei-ayanami-legacy/|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Legacy of Rei Ayanami|date=11 July 2013|publisher=The Artifice|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=18 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318111941/http://the-artifice.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-rei-ayanami-legacy/|url-status=live}}</ref> For Japanese reviewer Akio Nagatomi, Rei's passive attitude also reflects one of the traits of traditional Japanese society {{ndash}} the martyr complex {{ndash}} in which a person will do whatever it takes to accomplish a given task, regardless of personal consequences.<ref>{{cite web|first=Akio|last=Nagatomi|title=Shinseiki Evangelion Review Pages - Episode 6|url=https://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t006.htm|publisher=The Animé Café|website=Abcb.com|access-date=2021-05-14|archive-date=2018-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802083533/http://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t006.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, in one scene Shinji sees Rei conversing with his father, smiling and jumping like a girl in love; according to Jun'ichi Satō, this could be an excess of the animators and can be interpreted as a misunderstanding on the part of Shinji.<ref name=Sato/><ref name=Oguro/>

In another scene, Shinji tries to strike up a conversation on an escalator and in the process criticizes Gendo. Shinji says he doesn't trust his father, for which Rei slaps him.<ref name=Schizo>{{cite book |first=Oizumi |last=Sanenari |date= 1997|title= Anno Hideaki Sukidzo Evangerion |publisher= Ōta Shuppan|isbn= 978-4-87233-315-2|language=ja|p=31}}</ref> Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster noticed that Rei slapped him "in very much the same way a mother would react to a selfish child".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fujie|first1=Kazuhisa|last2=Foster|first2=Martin|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide|year=2004|publisher=DH Publishing, Inc.|location=United States|isbn=0-9745961-4-0|page=79}}</ref> Critics Brian Camp and Julie Davis described the escalators as a characteristic element of the series and of Anno's directional style.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Camp|first1=Julie|last2=Davis|title=Anime Classics Zettai!: 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces|year=2007|publisher=Stone Bridge Press, Inc.|isbn=978-1-933330-22-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/animeclassicszet0000camp|pages=17–18}}</ref> Writer Virginie Nebbia compared ''Evangelion'' use of escalators with the directional style of Akio Jissōji, who worked, among other things, on the ''Ultraman'' series.<ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 3: L'Ultraman de Jissôji}}</ref> Academic Susan J. Napier, following critic Toru Endo, interpreted the descent into the base of Nerv and the images of escalators and elevators as a "descent into the subconscious".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Napier|first=Susan J.|author-link=Susan J. Napier|date=November 2002|title=When the Machines Stop: Fantasy, Reality, and Terminal Identity in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' and ''Serial Experiments Lain''|journal=Science Fiction Studies|volume=29|issue=88|url=https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/abstracts/a88.htm#Napier|access-date=May 4, 2007|issn=0091-7729|archive-date=June 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611205327/http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/abstracts/a88.htm#Napier|url-status=live|page=428|doi=10.1525/sfs.29.3.0418 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> For movie critic Krystian Woznicki, the static mechanicalness of escalators is reminiscent of the beginnings of the anime medium, when stories were to a large extent verbal narrations.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Krystian Woznicki|title=Towards a cartography of Japanese anime – Anno Hideaki's Evangelion Interview with Azuma Hiroki|magazine=Blimp Filmmagazine|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|date=September 1991}}</ref> Viewers discover that during the test in the flashack scene Gendo's glasses broke; after Gendo saves her, Rei keeps them with her.{{sfn|Cannarsi|1998 |p=13}} Writer Fabio Bartoli linked the glasses to the crystal; Bartoli interpreted it as a reference to the {{nihongo|''shinjinrui''|新人類|extra=lit. "new human race"}}: the Japanese generation born in the 1970s, which is also known as {{nihongo|''crystal-zoku''|クリスタル族|extra=lit. "crystal tribe"}}, characterized by communication and social problems.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bartoli|first=Fabio|url=http://www.antrocom.net/upload/sub/antrocom/040108/06-Antrocom.pdf|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion e la Kabbalah: dal Tempo di dolore al Tempo Benedetto|year=2008|journal=Antrocom|volume=4|issue=1|pages=29–30|access-date=April 18, 2020|language=it|archive-date=April 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422065644/http://www.antrocom.net/upload/sub/antrocom/040108/06-Antrocom.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> For ''Animage'' magazine the fact that Rei cherishes the glasses of Gendo, the "person she trust the most", proves Rei is a teenage girl with emotions, although "she problably grew up without ever learning how to express her feelings".<ref>{{cite book|language=ja|title=Animage|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|date=January 1996|page=43}}</ref>

During the episode, the HLM neighborhood in which Rei lives is also framed, made up of identical temporary buildings.{{sfn|Porori |2009 |p=69}}<ref>{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Episode:5 Rei I}}</ref> Critics compared her building to the ''danchi'', the dense, cheap housing complexes that appeared in postwar Japan, and to the character's biography, noting she's a replaceable clone.<ref>{{cite web|language=zh|access-date=11 May 2021|url=https://www.sohu.com/a/215647955_758090|title=人間開眼──從小說與映像窺視下流日本|publisher=深焦DeepFocus|website=Sohu.com|date=9 January 2018|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927140203/https://www.sohu.com/a/215647955_758090|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|language=zh|author=湯禎兆|title=人間開眼──從小說與映像窺視下流日本|publisher=天窗出版|isbn=978-988-16809-3-8 |date=2013|page=143}}</ref> Anime Feminist writer Jeremy Tauber also said that the damaged, cracked roads surrounding the complex "bring back unpleasant memories of the Kobe earthquake".<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Anime Feminist|website=animefeminist.com|first=Jeremy|last=Tauber|date=15 May 2024|url=https://www.animefeminist.com/evangelion-alienation-and-japans-1990s-economic-crisis/|title=Evangelion, alienation, and Japan's 1990s economic crisis|access-date=4 December 2024|archive-date=15 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515170012/https://www.animefeminist.com/evangelion-alienation-and-japans-1990s-economic-crisis/}}</ref> According to Japanese academic Tsuyoshi Ito, Ayanami's residential complex resembles Japanese city of Chiba and it is one of the distinct features of ''Evangelion''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s urban scenarios.<ref>{{cite journal|author=伊藤剛|title=エヴァンゲリオンは千葉アニメだ!?|journal=SFアニメがおもしろい|date=1997|language=ja}}</ref> Tokyo-3, however, also features Shinjuku-like skyscrapers, similar to the thirteen towers of Shinjuku in Ryū Murakami's ''Coin Locker Babies''; therefore, ''Evangelion''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s urban scenarios are a fusion of Shinjuku and Chiba.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=89}} Critic and philosopher Hiroki Azuma described Rei's room as similar to a science laboratory, particularly a medical one. He likened the room to the Satyam, scientific laboratories of Aum Shinrikyō, a Japanese religious sect at the center of media attention during the broadcast of the series.<ref name=Azuma>{{cite web |last=Azuma |first=Hiroki |author-link=Hiroki Azuma |title=Animé or Something Like it: Neon Genesis Evangelion |url=http://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html |publisher=NTT InterCommunication Center |access-date=13 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808182031/http://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html |archive-date=8 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Writer Morikawa compared the image of Rei's room full of scattered medicines to the works of artist Damien Hirst, who is known for having used shelves of medicines as a conceptual art installation.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|pp=28-29}} According to academic Philip Brophy, it seems modeled by Rei's "interior nothingness, as if she inhabits a sensory deprivation chamber".<ref>{{cite book|first=Philip |last=Brophy|chapter=Extra-Musical Sonic Environments / 2: Sonic Embedment and Spatial "Worlding". Soundscapes, Psychoacoustics, and Post-Human Sonics in Shinseiki Evangelion|page=521|title=The Palgrave Handbook of Music and Sound in Japanese Animation|publisher=Palgrave Macmillian|date=2024|editor=Marco Pellitteri|isbn=9789819704293}}</ref> Writer Dennis Redmond also interpreted the images of the high-tech laboratory, identified with Ritsuko, as a reflection of the social and natural history of postwar Japan.{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=133}}

When Shinji enters Rei's room, she is presented naked after shower; he accidentally falls on her whilst, and touches her breasts in the process.<ref name=Schizo/> She then gets dressed and leaves without saying a word.<ref>{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion and Philosophy: That Syncing Feeling|editor1=Christian Cotton|editor2=Andrew M. Winters|publisher=Carus Books|isbn=978-1-63770-004-4|date=2022|first=Heather|last=Browning|first2=Walter|last2=Veit|chapter=The Desperate Search for Meaning in Life|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367254911_The_Desperate_Search_for_Meaning_in_Life|access-date=30 May 2026|p=6}}</ref> This breif encounter is the beginning of their relationship.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Satoshi |last=Tsukamoto |title=The Enigmatic Power of Neon Genesis Evangelion |date=2022 |publisher=Aichi University |journal=文明 |volume=21 |issue=42|url=https://aichiu.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/11272/files/035-048%E5%A1%9A%E6%9C%AC.pdf|access-date=November 15, 2023|page=40}}</ref> The scene has been described as a criticism or parody of typical anime fan service.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=11 May 2021|url=https://www.animefeminist.com/discourse-not-doll-rei-ayanami-escapism-objectified-images-desire/|title="I Am Not a Doll": Rei Ayanami, escapism, and objectified images of desire|first=Nicole|last=Veneto|date=22 February 2017|publisher=Anime Feminist|website=Animefeminist.com|archive-date=25 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425065402/https://www.animefeminist.com/discourse-not-doll-rei-ayanami-escapism-objectified-images-desire/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Redmond|2004|pp=134-135}} According to Christopher Kay from ''The Artifice'', Anno uses such scenes to criticize the escapism of anime fans, who take refuge in a fictional and accommodating world.<ref>{{cite web|first=Christopher|last=Kay|url=https://the-artifice.com/fanservice-anime-perception-intent/|title=Fanservice in Anime: Perception Versus Intent|publisher=The Artifice|website=The-artifice.com|date=30 November 2015|access-date=11 May 2021|archive-date=30 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130064109/https://the-artifice.com/fanservice-anime-perception-intent/|url-status=live}}</ref> Carl Gustav Horn noted that the scene is "reminiscent of the most controversial one in Gainax's ''Honneamise''", but "it's a eerie, mysterious scene, and erotic in a dark way rather than that of the 'cute' service shots".<ref name="horn">{{cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/~fenn/eva/eva2.html|title=Speaking Once as They Return: Gainax's ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' - Part 2|last=Horn|first=Carl G|access-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228184523/http://www.stanford.edu/~fenn/eva/eva2.html|archive-date=28 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to academic Yumiko Yano, Rei gives the impression of "innocence and purity", and the scene shows how she is indifferent to her own nudity and sexuality; Rei does not block the male gaze and is passive toward the viewer's sexual desires. According to Yano, this "innocent childishness" of Rei also makes men feel comfortable approaching her, and this gives Rei a "Lolita charm".{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|pp=104-105}} Kaichiro Mirokawa also noted how Rei is presented covered with bandages at the beginning of the series; in "Rei I", however, she is depicted without any signs of injury, even though the interior of the room has blood stains and other elements to emphasise her convalescence. This suggests that the element of bandages was a stylistic choice rather than a really important element for the plot.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=19}} Writer Virginie Nebbia compared Rei and Shinji's scene to the anime ''Dear Brother'', directed by Osamu Dezaki; in one scene in the anime, the protagonist Nanako discovers the apartment of the mysterious Rei Asaka. The audience has the impression of entering a secret sanctuary, a reflection of the character's disturbed psyche.<ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 3: Pénétrer dans l'intimité}}</ref> Nebbia also pointed out that ''Evangelion'' thus can be seen as a denunciation, conscious or otherwise, of the ''otaku'' fetishization of the female body.<ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 3: L'utilisation du fan service}}</ref>

==Reception== "Rei I" was first broadcast on November 1, 1995, and attained a rating of 7.2% viewership on Japanese TV, the highest up to that point.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=January 1996|page=74|language=ja|title=Anime Land}}</ref> Academic writer Olga Kopylova noted that Rei Ayanami enjoyed "a huge following" from "Rei I" onwards.<ref>{{cite book|date=2021|publisher=Stockholm University Press|title=Anime Studies: Media-Specific Approaches to Neon Genesis Evangelion|isbn=978-91-7635-164-2|url=https://www.stockholmuniversitypress.se/site/books/e/10.16993/bbp/|chapter=Manga Production, Anime Consumption: The Neon Genesis Evangelion Franchise and its Fandom|first=Olga|last=Olga Kopylova|page=277|doi=10.16993/bbp|editor-first1=José Andrés|editor-first2=Ana|editor-last1=Santiago Iglesias|editor-last2=Soler Baena|archive-date=October 19, 2023|access-date=December 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019021912/https://www.stockholmuniversitypress.se/site/books/e/10.16993/bbp/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1996, the episode ranked fifth among "best anime episodes" by ''Animage'' magazine Grand Prix poll.<ref name="eighteen">{{cite web |url=http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1996.html |title=第18回アニメグランプリ［1996年5月号］ |publisher=Tokuma Shoten |archive-date=October 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019175259/http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1996.html}}</ref> ''Newtype'' praised "Rei I", describing the animation of the scene in which she smiles at Gendo as "excellent",<ref>{{cite book|title=Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|year=2005|language=ja|pages=24–25}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=December 1995|pages=6–7|language=ja|title=気になる、彼女}}</ref> while Digitally Obsessed's reviewer Joel Cunningham similarly lauded the installment, describing as a "pretty engaging" episode, "simply because Rei is such a fascinating character": "The cliffhanger ending, some mecha action, and some cute interplay between Shinji and Misato helps as well".<ref>{{cite web|access-date=30 May 2021|url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=2959|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:2 (1995)|date=8 March 2002|publisher=Digitally Obsessed!|website=Digitallyobsessed.com|first=Joel|last=Cunningham|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213418/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=2959|url-status=live}}</ref> Japanese website ''Merumo'' described Shinji's concern for Rei as one of the "highlights of the episode", and the scene in which Shinji encounters Rei after her shower as "famous".<ref>{{cite web|language=ja|date=11 April 2021|publisher=Merumo|website=News.merumo.ne.jp|url=https://news.merumo.ne.jp/article/genre/10636729|title=『エヴァンゲリオン』で秀逸なサブタイトルといえば？第3位は「せめて、人間らしく」第1位はやっぱり…|access-date=14 May 2021|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513202750/https://news.merumo.ne.jp/article/genre/10636729|url-status=live}}</ref> Critics also praised Rei's introduction and mysterious aura.<ref>{{cite web|first=Max|last=Covill|publisher=Film School Rejects|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/3/|title=Every Episode of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' Ranked|date=June 17, 2019|access-date=December 30, 2020|archive-date=January 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108222131/https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/3/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Café>{{cite web|first=Akio|last=Nagatomi|title=Shinseiki Evangelion Review Pages - Episode 5|publisher=The Animé Café|website=Abcd.com|url=https://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t005.htm|access-date=8 May 2021|archive-date=2 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802083532/http://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t005.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/every-neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-180010253.html|title=Every 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' Episode, Ranked from Best to Worst|date=7 February 2025|publisher=Yahoo! Entertainment|access-date=28 February 2025}}</ref>

Animé Café reviewer Akio Nagatomi appreciated its introduction of new mysteries and interactions, as "the writing seems to deliberately try to pace this interest with the level of interest generated in the audience".<ref name=Café/> In their book ''Anime Classics Zettai!'', writers Brian Camp and Julie Davis described the scene in which Shinji and Rei talk on an escalator as an example of the "intricate geometric compositions" in which ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' characters are often placed, praising the composition and the editing of the scenes of the series.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Camp|first1=Julie|last2=Davis|title=Anime Classics Zettai!: 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces|year=2007|publisher=Stone Bridge Press, Inc.|isbn=978-1-933330-22-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/animeclassicszet0000camp|page=246}}</ref> Philosopher Hiroki Azuma praised the depiction of her room, saying that, "Rei's solitude is grounded in a completely tactile substantiality that gives us extremely realistic images of the discommunication that children of the present face".<ref name=Azuma/> Animator Yūichirō Oguro also expressed appreciation for the character design, the animation and the work of chief animator Shunji Suzuki.<ref name=Oguro/> A negative comment came from Comic Book Resources's Rhett Intiago, who criticized the scene in which Shinji accidentally touches Rei breasts as a sexual assault: "Rei is completely unfazed, but that does not excuse the fact that now, Shinji has not only broken into her apartment but sexually assaulted her as well".<ref>{{cite web |author=Rhett Intriago |url=https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-shinji-ruined-likability/ |title=Evangelion: 10 Ways Shinji Ruined His Likability |date=November 3, 2021 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |access-date=July 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112180215/https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-shinji-ruined-likability/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the nineteenth episode of the ''Claymore'' anime series, Raki saves Priscilla from a falling block of bricks, ending up on top of her. Raki realizes he has his hand on Priscilla's breast, and then stands up embarrassed to apologize. The scene has been compared to the one where Shinji falls on Rei in "Rei I".<ref>{{cite web|language=it|date=16 September 2007|url=https://www.animeclick.it/news/16774-claymore-cita-evangelion|title=Claymore cita Evangelion...|website=Animeclick.it|access-date=9 May 2021|archive-date=13 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413110724/https://www.animeclick.it/news/16774-claymore-cita-evangelion|url-status=live}}</ref> The episode also inspired merchandise,<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=10 |page=28|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=E-Mono |publisher=Gainax |page=112 |language=ja |date=1997 |isbn=4-04-852868-8}}</ref> including T-shirts<ref>{{cite book |title=The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side B|language=fr |page=125 |publisher=Glénat |date=2010|isbn=978-2-7234-7121-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|language=ja|access-date=9 May 2021|url=https://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/evastore/a70006.html|title=新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 全話Tシャツ 「第伍話 レイ、心のむこうに」|publisher=Yahoo! Japan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102121648/https://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/evastore/a70006.html|archive-date=2 January 2023}}</ref> and noodles.<ref>{{cite web|language=ja|date=28 May 209|publisher=Gigazine|website=Gigazine.net|url=https://gigazine.net/news/20090528_eva_noodle/|title=映画「ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版：破」関連の食品・飲料を買い集めてみた【食べ物編】|access-date=2021-05-14|archive-date=2021-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513014624/https://gigazine.net/news/20090528_eva_noodle/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==References== {{Notelist}}

=== Citations === {{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography === {{refbegin}} * {{cite book | date = 1997 | first = Kaichiro| last= Morikawa | title=The Evangelion Style|publisher=Daisan Shokan|language=ja|isbn=4-8074-9718-9}} * {{cite book| title = エヴァンゲリオン用語事典 第2版| date = 1998| publisher = 八幡書店| language = ja| isbn= 978-4-89350-327-5| ref = {{harvid|Glossary|1998}}}} * {{cite book |first=Gualtiero|last= Cannarsi|title=Evangelion Encyclopedia|volume=3 |date=1998 |publisher=Dynamic Italia |language=it}} * {{cite book | first=Dennis|last=Redmond|title=The World is Watching: Video as Multinational Aesthetics, 1968-1995|date=2004|publisher=Southern Illinois University Press|isbn=0-8093-2535-7}} * {{cite book |year= 2009 |first= Syunsou |last= Porori|title=The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side A |publisher=Glénat Editions |isbn=978-2-7234-7120-6}} * {{cite book|language=fr|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Le renouveau de l'animation japonaise|last=Marine|first= Alexandre|date=2021|publisher=Pix'n love Editions|isbn=978-2-37188-093-1}} * {{cite book |last1=Nebbia |first1=Virginie |title=La Saga Evangelion: L'oeuvre d'une vie |language=fr |publisher=Third Editions |date=2023 |isbn=978-2-3778-4430-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TT7aEAAAQBAJ |access-date=2023-10-25 |archive-date=2023-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025081027/https://books.google.it/books?id=TT7aEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=it#v=onepage&q&f=false#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}} * {{cite book |last= Iso |first= Mitsuo |date= 2023 |title=磯光雄 ANIMATION WORKS preproduction |edition=1st |language=Japanese |trans-title= Iso Mitsuo ANIMATION WORKS preproduction |location= Tokyo, Japan |publisher= Style |isbn=978-4-80-213353-1 }} {{refend}}

==External links== * {{IMDb episode|0781959}}

{{Neon Genesis Evangelion}}

Category:1995 Japanese television episodes Category:Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes Category:Science fiction television episodes