Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hedgehog's Dilemma

Season 1, Episode 4, Aired 10/25/95

Episode Summary

Shinji runs away from Misato and NERV after hurting each other in their attempt to be closer. Their relationship is described as the "hedgehog's dilemma," wherein the closer they become the more they can hurt each other. Shinji is finally captured by NERV and discharged, but his need for others keeps him from boarding the outbound train.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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Allison Keith-Shipp

Misato Katsuragi
Amanda Winn Lee

Rei Ayanami
Kurt Stoll

Kensuke Aida

Fan Episode Reviews (3)

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Unexpected, Not Well episode..

7.4

"Good"

By joeyissoweird, Mar 09, 2008 Report Abuse

As far as I know, I think this episode is the worst episode out of what I've seen, but it isn't exactly bad. This episode was just not exciting. This episode was mainly about Shinji and his friends, and it seems like this episode is an attempt to have viewers be a crier. Crier's definition means a person who cries as far as I know, so that's what I'm saying. This episode isn't exactly sad, either. It's just not well written.

But, I have to forgive this episode because like I siad, it isn't exactly bad. It's just not one of the best episodes.moreless

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Great episode with lots of memorable moments.

9.7

"Superb"

By smanxmonkey, Apr 05, 2007 Report Abuse

This is a really important episode for the series. Shinji is lost in many complications between his personality and the duty thrusted upon him. To clear things up he runs away and lives out in the world alone. We see more of the city and how deserted it is, making it almost a ghost town. The mood in this episode is a heavy combination of Shinji's mood and the city's depressed-like state. The title itself is thought provoking, "the hedgehog dilemma" is a very curious concept and it takes some thinking to understand how that comes into play in the series. A very well thought out plot which is another example of why this is one of the greatest animes of all time.moreless

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The atmosphere thickens, making this a great episode to set up the rest of the series.

9.6

"Superb"

By ZaleIsBackAgain, Aug 08, 2005 Report Abuse

After what he had experienced with the battle against the fourth angel, Shinji decided to run away from it all. He went practically no where; from the train station, to watching movies, to even camping with one of the students who was with him in the cockpit. The only thing to keep Shinji entertained throughout his journey of achieving nothing was his walkman with a CD of Beethoven in it. On paper, this episode sounds really boring, but how it was executed makes it quite an excellent treat. After the intelligence group pin pointed Shinji, they brought him to Misato for questioning. Though Shinji refused to properly co-operate, and for that, he was kicked out of NERV.

At the last second, recalling the "Hedgehog's Dilemma" theory, she understood why Shinji is running away, and grabs him before he leaves Tokyo-3. It seems like she's too late, as the train already left, but Shinji, having second thoughts of his action, stepped away, finding Misato gladly welcoming Shinji. In an awkward way, this was quite an exciting episode, seeing Shinji finally being happy. Who wouldn't be happy to live with a beautiful women involved with saving the world? While it simply sets up the mood for the rest of the series, like how the previous episodes did, you learn to cherish each and every one of them in some dynamic way. I think this is one of the better episodes in the series.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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Notes
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- Japanese Title: 「雨、逃げ出した後」 ("Ame, Nigedashita Ato") - "Rain, Escape and Afterwards" Edit
Quotes
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- (Misato looks at Shinji.) Shinji: I'm home. (pause) Misato: Welcome home. Edit
Allusions
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- Episode Four depicts the wanderings of Shinji, who has run away from Misato and NERV. Shinji and Misato hurt each other with their thorns as they try to get closer, and yet even then, they need one another. The relationship between these two is indeed just like the "hedgehog's dilemma" that Ritsuko had mentioned in Episode Three. There is no battle with an Angel and it largely stays away from addressing any of the mysteries, but when considered from a thematic perspective, this is truly Eva-like drama. In reality, this episode was once omitted in terms of the series composition and it was planned that what is now Episode Five would come after Episode Three. But as production progressed, staff members voiced their opinion that perhaps there was a need to depict Shinji's relationship with the people around him after Episode Three, and thus, this episode was made, greatly changing the contents from what had originally been conceived. Because of this, the script for this episode was written after the script for Episode Five had already been finalized. This is the one and only episode of all the TV and movie episodes in which Director Anno did not have a direct hand in the plot and script. In terms of performance, the highlight has got to be the final cut at the train station where Shinji and Misato gaze at each other. This cut, which has absolutely no dialogue or movement, lasts roughly 50 seconds. It is a silence that would normally be inconceivably long, but it depicts Shinji's difficulty to express himself in words. Incidentally, the ballad playing during this scene is "Bay side love story -from Tokyo-." And the song playing before that, when shinji hits Tōji, is "FACE." Both are songs sung by Masami Okui. Kïchi Jinme, who did the storyboards, is the pen-name that Junichi Satō, famous for such shows as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, uses when he works on robot anime. Even after this episode, for Evangelion, he continued to work on episodes that contain very few combat scenes and focus on drama instead. Akio Satsukawa is a scriptwriter who has worked on such projects as the live movie Stroller of Attics. For GAINAX fans, his exquisite film editing work on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is also unforgettable. And in Episode Three and Four, fans can also enjoy their fill of the dialogue that he worked into the episodes. Edit