Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion-Part 3-episodes 12 thru 15

So, the mold has been set. Shinji and crew will ride those amazing Evas into grand adventures. A bold new era has begun...nope. Beginning now is the grim second half of the saga. Actually, that's not totally true, as nothing all that tragic has happened yet. But one can sense a major shift in the story. Episode 12 "The Value of Miracles/ She said, "Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred."" reveals Misato's dark childhood for the first time, completely changing our perception of the character. The battle with the eighth angel, Sandalphon, could have been incredibly silly, but ends up being surprisingly tense. These children could die, it's no joke. The Eva units are not involved in the angel attack in Episode 13, and 14 and 15 do not feature the angels at all. Episode 14, "Seele, Throne of Souls/Weaving a Story" serves as an end of part one, with clip show in the first half detailing what has happened so far, the first surreal scene of the series, and a couple of teaser shots of what's to come. And yet, it somehow doesn't feel truly final until episode 15, "Lies and Silence/Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses." (I cannot stand these bulky english titles). The episode focuses on Misato and Kaji's relationship, though Shinji and Asuka share a scene as well, in what may be the final funny scene of NGE (I won't spoil it, it's priceless). At the end of the episode, Kaji is revealed to be a spy, and Misato holds a gun to his head, warning him of the danger he is in. Kaji opens a door to a room that Misato has never seen. Within the dark room is a giant white figure tied to a giant red cross and impaled with a giant spear. Kaji says the creaure is Adam. The first angel. The cause of the Second Impact. At this moment, chapter one is over. No more fun and games. No more monster-of-the-week. No more Penpen. Only instrumentality.