| "The Beast" | |
|---|---|
| Neon Genesis Evangelion episode | |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Evangelion_Unfamiliar_Ceiling.jpg) Shinji Ikari staring at the ceiling in Misato Katsuragi's apartment | |
| Episode no. | Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Kazuya Tsurumaki |
| Written by | Hideaki Anno Yoji Enokido |
| Story by | Gainax |
| Original air date | October 11, 1995 |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
"The Beast", known by the Japanese title "Unfamiliar Ceilings",[a] is the second episode of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, created by Gainax. The episode was written by the series director Hideaki Anno and Yōji Enokido and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki. It aired originally on TV Tokyo on October 11, 1995.
The series is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm named Second Impact, particularly in the futuristic fortified city of Tokyo-3. The protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the organization Nerv to pilot a giant bio-machine mecha named Evangelion into combat with beings called Angels. During the episode, Shinji faces the Angel Sachiel but freezes with fear and fails to defend his Eva-01, which is left damaged and inoperable. Shinji wakes up in a hospital the next day and is taken in by Nerv's Captain Misato Katsuragi, who becomes his new legal guardian.
Production of "The Beast" began in September 1994 and ended in May 1995. Staff used Christian religious symbolism in the episode, with the intent of differentiating the show from other mecha series. The title itself, "The Beast", references the beast from the Book of Revelation. The episode scored a 5.3% rating of audience share on Japanese TV and received critical and public acclaim focused on its visuals, direction, and sound.
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