{{good article}} {{Infobox television episode | series = Neon Genesis Evangelion | image = Weaving a Story.png | image_size = | caption = An image of Rei Ayanami's inner monologue. Several images of the girl put in a row appear during Rei's stream of thoughts, described by critic Dennis Redmond as reminiscent of 1970s science fiction. | season = | episode = 14 | production = | writer = Hideaki Anno | director = Masahiko Otsuka, Ken Ando | airdate = {{Start date|1996|01|03}} | guests = | length = 22 minutes | prev = Lilliputian Hitcher | next = Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses | episode_list = List of Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes }} {{nihongo foot|"'''Weaving a Story'''"|ゼーレ、魂の座|Zere, tamashii no za|{{lit|Seele, the seat of the soul|}}|group=lower-alpha|lead=yes}} is the fourteenth episode of the Japanese anime television series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', which was created by Gainax. The episode, written by Hideaki Anno, and directed by Masahiko Otsuka and Ken Ando, was first broadcast on TV Tokyo on January 3, 1996. The series is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm known as Second Impact and is mostly set in the futuristic, fortified city of Tokyo-3. The series' protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the special military organization Nerv to pilot a gigantic, bio-mechanical mecha named Evangelion into combat with beings called Angels. In the course of the episode, a secret sect named Seele examines Gendo Ikari's actions to determine whether his actions are in accordance with the organisation's plans, which follow ancient documents called Dead Sea Scrolls. Evangelion's pilots are tested; during her test, Rei Ayanami has a long stream of consciousness in which she investigates her identity.
During the making of the series, director Anno felt he had neglected Rei's character, so he tried to devote space to her by writing an inner monologue of her by depicting her as a girl with schizophrenia. A friend of his had lent him a volume on mental illness with a poem written by a nervous sufferer. It was thanks to the book Anno wrote Rei's monologue by inserting more and more psychological introspection in the episodes to follow.
"Weaving a Story" drew a 0.9% audience share on Japanese television. The first part of the episode, a summary of the previous thirteen, was deemed both useful and superfluous by reviewers. In contrast, Rei's inner monologue attracted positive comments.
==Plot== The first half of this episode is a clip show, in the form of a report by the secret organization Seele reviewing the actions of Gendo Ikari, commander of the special agency Nerv, summarizing the first season of episodes and the story up until this point. In the second half, Nerv's scientist Ritsuko Akagi conducts an experiment to determine if pilots can be switched between the Evangelion mechas they normally pilot. Pilot Rei Ayanami can synchronize with Unit-01 fairly well, but when Shinji Ikari attempts to synchronize with Unit-00, it goes violently out of control inside of the base. Unit-00 attacks the hangar's observation booth, smashing the window. However, Rei was standing at the window instead of Gendo, causing Major Misato Katsuragi to wonder if Unit-00 was trying to kill Rei. Meanwhile, Ritsuko feels that Unit-00 was trying to attack her. At the end of the episode, Rei uses Unit-00 to bring a giant weapon named Spear of Longinus recovered from Antarctica to the deepest level of Nerv's base, the Terminal Dogma.
==Production== In 1993, Gainax wrote a presentation document for ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' entitled {{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, containing the initial synopsis for the planned episodes.<ref name=ECProposal>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=1 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Cap. 2: La Proposition}}</ref> The ''Proposal'' document was then published in 1994.<ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Lancement du Project Eva}}</ref> For the first twelve episodes aired, the company roughly followed the schedule envisioned by the first draft, with only a few minor script differences.<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><ref>{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Theatralical VHS Box Booklet|language=ja|publisher=King Amusement Creative|date=1997}}</ref> From the thirteenth episode onward, however, the production deviated from the original plan of the writers and from what was initially envisioned in the submission document. According to Michael House, translator for Gainax,<ref>{{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |chapter=ミニミニゲリオンナ人達: Michael Houseの巻|volume=9|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1996}}</ref> ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''{{'s}} main director Hideaki Anno initially intended to give the whole story of the anime a happy ending, but during production he realized that he had created characters that were too problematic, so he changed his plans.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 28, 2011|url=https://www.gwern.net/docs/eva/2011-house#|title=Interviewing translator Michael House|access-date=July 23, 2020|archive-date=August 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824175245/https://www.gwern.net/docs/eva/2011-house|url-status=live|last1=House|first1=Michael}}</ref>{{sfn|Marine|2021|p=108}} According to Hiroki Azuma, a culture critic who personally interviewed the director, Anno during the airing of the series also began to criticize ''otakus'', whom he considered too closed-minded and introverted,<ref name=Tsurumaki/> so he changed his original plans by creating a more dramatic and introspective story<ref name=Diffusion>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap 1: Diffusion à la télevision}}</ref> toward the middle of the series.<ref name="Azuma">{{cite web|last=Azuma|first=Hiroki|title=Animé or Something Like it: Neon Genesis Evangelion|url=https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html|publisher=NTT InterCommunication Center|access-date=August 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808182031/http://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html|archive-date=August 8, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hiroki">{{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> The fourteenth episode of the series was to be titled {{nihongo|"The Sickness Unto Death, and"|死に至る病、そして|Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite}}, and not "Weaving a Story";<ref name=ECProposal/> during the installment, the second of a trilogy of episodes with the same basic theme, Shinji would learn "true fear and despair". The staff in progress abandoned the original project,{{sfn|Marine|2021|p=107}} and some of the ideas for the trilogy were later transferred and condensed into the sixteenth episode, "Splitting of the Breast".<ref name=Proposal2>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=19|pages=23–24 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref>
Hideaki Anno wrote the screenplay and produced the storyboards.{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=36}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=45 |page=23|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref> "Weaving a Story" was one of the three episodes of the series which Anno wrote all by himself.<ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Production et catastrophes}}</ref> Masahiko Otsuka and Ken Ando acted as directors.<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> Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki, the two assistant directors of the series, worked on the main designs<ref>{{cite book|title=新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 原画集 Groundwork of Evangelion|volume=2|language=ja|page=251|publisher=Ground Works|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/3/37/Groundwork_of_EVANGELION_VOL.2_JP.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026093218/https://retrocdn.net/images/3/37/Groundwork_of_EVANGELION_VOL.2_JP.pdf|archive-date=26 October 2023|isbn=4903713016|date=2000}}</ref> together with Hisaki Furukawa, Shohei Sotoyama, and Yasuhiro Kamikura.<ref>{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Staff}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Data of Evangelion|publisher=Gainax|pages=22–23|language=ja|year=2003|editor=Gainax}}</ref> Production involved other studios besides Gainax, such as Cosmos, Studio Bihou and Maki Productions.<ref name=Ultimate/> Anno worked on "Weaving a Story" at the same time as the production of the sixteenth episode.<ref name=Tsurumaki>{{cite book|language=ja|date=1997|editor=Gainax|chapter=Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion Pamphlet}}</ref> During the making of the series, he felt particularly conflicted about the character of Rei Ayanami.{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=97-100}} Anno tried to bring a hidden side of his psyche into the character, portraying her as a representation of his unconscious.{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=93-97}} In spite of this he felt uneasy, because he did not really feel interested in or akin to Rei.{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=97-100}} During the course of the episodes, he devoted very little space to the character, and halfway through the series he decided to devote more space to Rei inserting an inner monologue of her. Initially, the director thought of portraying Rei as a girl suffering from schizophrenia,{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=93-97}} and tried to "talk about himself".<ref name="Eng">{{cite web|first=Lawrence|last=Eng|url=http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/spring97/05_03b.html|title=In the Eyes of Hideaki Anno, Writer and Director of Evangelion|publisher=CJas.org|access-date=September 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709031758/http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/spring97/05_03b.html|archive-date=July 9, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite his attempts, however, he could not write the monologue. To help him, a friend of his lent him a volume from a series of magazine-like books called {{nihongo|''Bessatsu Takarajima''|別冊宝島}} on mental illness, inside which was a poem written by a mentally ill person.<ref name=Diffusion/>{{sfn|Marine|2021|p=109}} The poem deeply affected Anno,<ref name=Eng/> and he was finally able to write the monologue in one go.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |chapter=庵野 秀明 - Part II|title=Zankoku na tenshi no you ni |publisher=Magazine Magazine |year=1997 |isbn=4-906011-25-X}}</ref> From then on, the concept of the series veered in an introspective direction,<ref name=Tsurumaki/> in an attempt to describe how the human mind works.<ref name=Eng/><ref>{{cite magazine|script-title=ja:ＥＶＡ ＳＰＥＣＩＡＬ ＴＡＬＫ ｗｉｔh 庵野秀明＋上野俊哉|magazine=Newtype|date=November 1996|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten}}</ref>
Most of the episode consists of a summary of the previous thirteen installments,<ref name=Ultimate>{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Episode 14: Weaving a Story}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=45 |page=25|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref> with the use of numerous captions written in Matisse Mincho font and in bold type. The entire first part is devoid of background music;<ref name=Ultimate/>{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=49}} the staff also kept character lines to a minimum.<ref name=Booklet>{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum Edition Booklet |volume=3 |publisher=ADV}}</ref><ref name=LD>{{cite book|language=ja|date=1995|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Genesis 0:7 Laserdisc Encyclopedia|chapter=Explanation|publisher=Starchild Stereo}}</ref> The second part, on the other hand, while presenting unedited sequences and continuing the plot, consists of images constructed using photographic material collected from previous episodes.<ref name=Oguro>{{cite web|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama47.shtml|title=第47回 エヴァ雑記「第拾四話 ゼーレ、魂の座」|website=Style.fm|language=ja|access-date=July 23, 2020|first=Yūichirō|last=Oguro|archive-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901083048/http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama47.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=74}} The number of new frames was reduced to only five hundred.{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=49}} Whilst normally for summary episodes duplicate films of the scenes already filmed are used, ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' staff decided to re-photograph the component drawings for "Weaving a Story" instead.<ref name=LD/> For the scene of Sachiel's attack, the crew intentionally deleted the flying VTOL vehicles present in the original installment.<ref name=Ultimate/><ref name=LD/> The staff also added old sequences with different colouring, such as the scene where the Eva-00 goes berserk. Takashi Nagasako, Junko Iwao, Takehito Koyasu, Katsumi Suzuki, Miki Nagasawa, Tetsuya Iwanaga and Kotono Mitsuishi played unidentified characters audible in the background of the scenes of "Weaving a Story".<ref name=Kai>{{cite book |title=Eva Tomo no Kai|script-title=ja:エヴァ友の会|trans-title=Eva Fan Club|volume=7 |publisher=Gainax |language=ja|date=1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Data of Evangelion|publisher=Gainax|page=63|language=ja|year=2003|editor=Gainax}}</ref> Yoko Takahashi, who had already sung the opening theme song, also sang a version of "Fly Me to the Moon" which was later used as the episode's closing theme song,<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=26 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}</ref> later replaced in later editions of the series by a version called "Rei solo/Normal".<ref>{{cite book |title=Eva Tomo no Kai|script-title=ja:エヴァ友の会|trans-title=Eva Fan Club|volume=6 |publisher=Gainax |language=ja|date=1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Edition Booklet |volume=4|chapter=Fly Me to the Moon |publisher=ADV}}</ref>
==Cultural references and themes== According to Kazuya Tsurumaki, assistant director of the series, Anno may have taken inspiration from the 45th episode of ''Mobile Suit Victory Gundam'', "Uso Dances in Hallucination", to compose "Weaving a Story"; like the ''Gundam'' episode, "Weaving a Story" is a summary episode that is not really one, telling something new instead.<ref>{{Cite book |title=ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序 全記録全集 |date=2008 |author=Khara |language=ja|chapter= 鶴巻 和哉 interview: 参加するからには価値あるものを}}</ref> ''Evangelion Chronicle'' magazine compared the heavy use of captions in the first part of "Weaving a Story" to the films of director Kon Ichikawa, and the ''Furuhata Ninzaburo'' series.<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=45 |page=32|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref> The Japanese title of the episode has been translated in the English edition as "Seele, the throne of the soul". Carl Gustav Horn, editor of the North American edition of the manga, linked the "throne of the soul" to the Jewish Kabbalah, describing it as "a very Sephirothic concept".<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> Critic Mario Pasqualini noted how the character {{nihongo|''za''|座}} could also be translated as "theater", linking the title translation "Theatre of the Soul" to the last episodes of the series, in which the characters of the series undergo therapy in a metaphysical theater.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dimensionefumetto.it/gualtiero-cannarsi-nel-di-lui-caso-titoli/|title=Gualtiero Cannarsi, nel di lui caso – Titoli|date=27 December 2018|access-date=19 February 2023|publisher=Dimensione Fumetto|language=it|website=Dimensionefumetto.it|archive-date=21 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221183931/http://www.dimensionefumetto.it/gualtiero-cannarsi-nel-di-lui-caso-titoli/|url-status=live}}</ref>
"Weaving a Story" contains the first explicit mention in the anime of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a series of secret documents in Seele's possession. The name refers to the real Dead Sea Scrolls,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|pp=66-67}} discovered in a cave on the northwest coast of the Dead Sea region in Palestine in 1947.<ref>{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=26}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=45 |page=27|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref> It was rumoured that parts of these ancient manuscripts were hidden by the Vatican because of inconvenient material that could shake the foundations of the Christian religion.<ref name=LD/><ref name=Oguro/> According to the character designer of the series, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the post-apocalyptic scenario and the use of the Dead Sea scrolls in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' are a "side effect" of ''Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water'', a previous work by Gainax and Anno.<ref>{{cite book |first=Oizumi |last=Sanenari |date= 1997|title= Anno Hideaki Schizo Evangerion |publisher= Ōta Shuppan|isbn= 4-87233-315-2|language=ja|pages=169–170}}</ref> Igarashi compared the function of ''Evangelion'' Dead Sea Scrolls to Gabriel García Márquez's ''One Hundred Years of Solitude'', in which events are discovered already written in Sanskrit on the scrolls of Melquíades.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=78}} Rei also mentions the "Red Earth" in her monologue,<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=45 |page=29|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref>{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=4}} a reference to some theories about the etymology of the name Adam, according to which it means "earth" or "red".<ref name=RCB>{{cite journal|editor=Gainax|title=用語集|journal=The End of Evangelion Program Book|year=1997|language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=1 |page=24|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref>
Neurology terms are mentioned in the compatibility test scene, such as the optic nerve,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=37}} autonomic neurons,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=35}} the two brain hemispheres,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|pp=2, 33}} vertebrae,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=19}} synapses,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=70}} corpus callosum,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=54}} spinal cord,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=81}} cerebrum,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=88}} tactile neurons,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=106}} and sensory neurons.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=89}} In the final scene of the episode, the spear of Longinus is mentioned for the first time,<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=45 |page=31|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref> and is transported by Rei with her Eva-00<ref>{{cite journal|title=テレビ版第弐拾四話時点でのポイント14|language=ja|date=April 1997|journal=Animage|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|page=7}}</ref> in the deepest section of Nerv's headquarters. The spear is named after the legendary Roman soldier who used his spear to pierce Jesus Christ when he was crucified on Golgotha;{{sfn|Glossary|1998|pp=173-174}} legend has it that whoever wields this spear impregnated with Christ's blood will control the world. Writer Patrick Drazen have compared Longinus' spear from the series to {{nihongo|''Amenonuhoko''|天沼矛|}}, the spear of the two creator ''kamis'' Izanagi and Izanami.<ref name=Drazen>{{cite book |title=Anime Explosion!: The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation|author=Patrick Drazen|page=298|year=2014|publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=978-1-61172-013-6}}</ref> Furthermore, "Weaving a Story" presents for the first time the real names of the Angels who appeared in the previous episodes.<ref>{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=23}}</ref>{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=37}} Their names all refer to real angels from the apocryphal Judeo-Christian manuscripts;<ref>{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Encyclopedia}}</ref> the characteristics of each Angel are also linked to them, forming a complex web of symbolism.<ref>{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|pages=80–81}}</ref><ref name="DR2">{{cite book|title = Death & Rebirth Booklet|date = 1997|publisher =Gainax|language = ja | edition=Special }}</ref>
==Themes and style== thumb|upright=0.9|The deformed face of Rei Ayanami which Shinji sees while on Eva-00. This led fans to speculate that Eva-00 has the soul of the first Ayanami clone.
Japanese writer Shoko Fukuya has noted how in "Weaving a Story" the memories and previous events of the series are remixed through captions and stories of people connected to the Evangelions, similar to a news report; whereas before ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' was a simple private story of Evangelion pilot boys, it is reinterpreted as a scenario planned by Seele. This reportage, according to Fukuya, is unreal, and would show how ''Evangelion'' is indeed a descendant of monster-of-the-weeks shows like the ''tokusatsu'' series ''Ultraman'', but at the same time different from them.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=72}} The reportage also features the voice of Hikari Horaki, who claims how she is used to evacuation trials. As noted by academic Taro Igarashi, the experience of war is depicted as an extension of the young boys' daily lives.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=92}}
In the test compatibility scene, Shinji, having climbed onto the Eva-00, notices that he can feel Ayanami's smell. The book {{nihongo|''Evangelion Glossary''|エヴァンゲリオン用語事典 |Evangerion Yougo Jiten}} by Yahata Shoten noted that the sense of smell is related to memory and sexual arousal, since a quarter of people with anosmia do not experience desire.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=125}} For a moment Shinji glimpses a distorted image of Rei. This has led to discussions among fans and to speculation that Eva-00 contains the soul of the first clone of Rei,<ref>{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap 2: Numériser une âme}}</ref>{{sfn|Marine|2021|p=87}} or Naoko Akagi.<ref>{{cite journal|language=ja|first=Koji|last=Mizobe|title=新世紀エヴァンゲリオンにみる思春期課題と精神障害|url=https://www.otemon.ac.jp/var/rev0/0000/5482/center08_mizobe.pdf|date=2011|issue=8|journal=地域支援心理研究センター紀要|publisher=追手門学院大学|access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817124825/http://www.otemon.ac.jp/var/rev0/0000/5482/center08_mizobe.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, a cut from the Eva-00 activation test shows Ritsuko, Naoko's daughter, with dark hair, so "it seems likely that Rei I's soul is mistaking Ritsuko for Naoko".<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 28, 2021|first=Hannah|last=Alton|url=https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-unit-00-soul-rei-theory/|date=November 29, 2020|title=Evangelion: Whose Soul Is in Unit 00?}}</ref> Architect Kaichiro Morikawa likened Rei's deformed face which Shinji sees with the artistic installations of Tony Oursler.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=27}} Shoko Fukuya compared the exchange of memories between Shinji and Rei to the Instrumentality visible in the last episodes of the series, a process in which the human souls merge into one entity.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=73}} ''Mechademia'' writer Mariana Ortega also noted how Asuka compares Eva-01 to the maternal breast and womb during the same scene,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ortega|first=Mariana|year=2007|title=My Father, He Killed Me; My Mother, She Ate Me: Self, Desire, Engendering, and the Mother in Neon Genesis Evangelion|journal=Mechademia|volume=2|pages=224–225|isbn=978-0-8166-5266-2|doi=10.1353/mec.0.0010|s2cid=120554645}}</ref> another theme presented in the following episodes.<ref>{{cite web|language=ja|access-date=30 April 2021|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama49.shtml|title=第49回 エヴァ雑記「第拾六話 死に至る病、そして」|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010182100/http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama49.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
The episode is the first to paint the inner world of a character, Rei, offering a long poetic monologue marked by a series of seemingly disconnected images and memories.{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=51}} ''Mechademia'' academic magazine noted how it is labeled "Rei's poem" by fans for its "fragmentary, cryptic nature".<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Mechademia|volume=9|title=Evangelion as Second Impact: Forever Changing That Which Never Was|date=2014|pages=283–293|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|doi=10.5749/mech.9.2014.0283|last1=Andreu Ballús|last2=Alba g. Torrents}}</ref> The fundamental theme of the second half of the series thus becomes that of the representation of the characters' psyche and the investigation of the "human heart",{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=51}}<ref>{{cite journal|volume=9|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion or the Deconstruction of the Anime Robot|date=2017|journal=ReS Futurae|author=Bounthavy Suvilay|doi=10.4000/resf.954|doi-access=free}}</ref> reaching its climax in the finale.<ref>{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum Edition Booklet |volume=7 |publisher=ADV}}</ref> In the course of the monologue Rei asks "Who am I?" and "Who are you?"; several identical images of the girl arranged in a row also appear in the scene. Writer Dennis Redmond linked Ayanami's questions to "Who is No.1?", the refrain from ''The Prisoner'', and to the key line "Who am I?" from Heiner Müller's ''Germania Death in Berlin''.{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=149}} According to Redmond, Rei's multiple images are reminiscent of the clones and androids endemic to 1970s science fiction, while the images appearing during Rei's poem "suggest a spectrum from classic East Asian mythology", such as the creation of Monkey King in ''Journey to the West'' from the union of Heaven and Earth, referred to by Rei as "sky" and "mountains".{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=149}} Writer Yuya Sato compared Rei's inner monologue to those in girls' manga, known as ''shōjo''. For example, Sakumi Yoshino's manga ''Eccentrics'' presents questions about personal identity and moments of introspection similar to Rei's "Who am I?" question. As in ''shōjo'' manga, there is no need for a clear answer to the question in Rei's monologue; its purpose for Sato is only to ask questions.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=81}} Ayanami's stream of consciousness does not move the story forward, and Rei lets out what she feels in a chaotic way, instead expressing her dislikes and sympathies; this world of dislikes and sympathies also constitutes another thematically popular aspect in ''shōjo'' manga.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=83}}
==Reception== "Weaving a Story" was first broadcast on January 3, 1996, at 8:00 AM, an unusual time for ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' due to a New Year's rescheduling,<ref>{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=History}}</ref> and thus drew a 0.9% audience share on Japanese television, the lowest in the entire series.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=March 1996|page=74|language=ja|title=Anime Land}}</ref> Merchandise on the episode has been released.{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=125}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=10 |page=28|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}</ref> A virtual reality game named ''Neon Genesis Evangelion VR: The Throne of Souls'' has been developed by Khara and Bandai Namco Entertainment;<ref>{{cite web|language=|url=https://in.ign.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-1/113281/feature/tgs-2017-we-trained-with-goku-fought-evangelions-10th-angel-and-rode-a-gundam-in-vr|title=TGS 2017: We Trained With Goku, Fought Evangelion's 10th Angel, and Rode a Gundam in VR|publisher=IGN|date=22 September 2017|access-date=19 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019094939/https://in.ign.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-1/113281/feature/tgs-2017-we-trained-with-goku-fought-evangelions-10th-angel-and-rode-a-gundam-in-vr|archive-date=19 October 2023|first=Miranda|last=Sanchez}}</ref> the same companies released an upgraded version of the attraction entitled {{nihongo|''Evangelion VR THE Throne of Souls: Runaway''|エヴァンゲリオンVR The 魂の座：暴走|Evuangerion VR The tamashī no za: Bōsō}} in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://www.famitsu.com/news/201712/22148707.html|title=『エヴァンゲリオン VR The 魂の座：暴走』を先行プレイ！ エヴァの暴走をリアルに体験できる|publisher=Famitsu|date=22 December 2017|access-date=19 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121165543/https://www.famitsu.com/news/201712/22148707.html|archive-date=21 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://event.bandainamco-am.co.jp/cx/SJH_Amusement_World/vr02/|title=エヴァンゲリオンVR The 魂の座|publisher=Bandai Namco|date=|access-date=19 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329162432/https://event.bandainamco-am.co.jp/cx/SJH_Amusement_World/vr02/|archive-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>
The Anime Café's Akio Nagatomi positively received the episode. The summary of the previous installments is in his opinion useful; Nagatomi also found Rei's soliloquy "fascinating", concluding his review by saying, "Not an exciting episode, but very important in its content".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t014.htm|title=Shinseiki Evangelion Review - Episode 14: Seele, Throne of Souls / Weaving a Story|publisher=The Anime Café|access-date=23 July 2022|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205035955/https://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t014.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Film School Rejects' Max Covill, on the other hand, commented negatively on "Weaving a Story", placing it second to last in his ranking of the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' episodes and criticizing the heavy recycling of already used animations.<ref>{{cite web|first=Max|last=Covill|publisher=Film School Rejects|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/|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/20210108222127/https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/|url-status=live}}</ref> For Digitally Obsessed's Joel Cunningham the episode does a good job of "answering some questions without really answering anything", but he described it as weaker than the twelfth and the thirteenth for the long summary. Cunningham still praised the ending, "a real shocker that left me, upon first viewing, racing to the store to purchase the next video".<ref name=DigitallyObsessed>{{cite web|access-date=30 May 2021|url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=911|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:4 (1995)|date=27 February 2001|publisher=Digitally Obsessed!|website=Digitallyobsessed.com|first=Joel|last=Cunningham|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420011815/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=911}}</ref> Writer Dennis Redmond described Rei's monologue as an "astonishingly beautiful dream sequence".{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=147}}
==See also== *"Weaving a Story 2: oral stage"
==References== * 50px Text was copied/adapted from [https://wiki.evageeks.org/Episode_14 Episode 14] at Evageeks wiki, which is released under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license]. {{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|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|first=Alessandra|last=Poggio|language=it|year=2008|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Encyclopedia|publisher=Dynit}} * {{cite book |first= Syunsou |last= Porori|title=The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side B|language=fr |publisher=Glénat |date=2010|isbn=978-2-7234-7121-3}} * {{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 |first=Kentaro |last=Takekuma |title=Anno Hideaki Parano Evangerion|language=ja |year=1997 |publisher=Ōta Shuppan |isbn=4-87233-316-0}} {{refend}}
==External links== * {{IMDb episode|0781960}}
{{Neon Genesis Evangelion}}
Category:1996 Japanese television episodes Category:Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes