Episode 5:

This episode establishes that the exterior of an Entry Plug becomes superheated. If this is so, then this would have caused further difficulty for Toji and Kensuke when they got into the Plug a few episodes back.

How did anyone expect poor Pen Pen to open a can of beer? And to have to suffer Misato's cooking, as well... I am quite surprised that Misato hasn't yet been brought up on charges by the SPCA.

Seems Gendo is a Next Generation fan in either English or Japanese. There's one part where in the dub he says, "Make it so." According to the subtitles, the same bit in Japanese is, "Engage."

Episode 6:

This beginning of this episode overlaps slightly with the end of the last episode. (Brings back fond memories of Doctor Who!) Anyway, Episode 5 ends with Misato screaming, "Shinji!" However, no where does she scream this during the same scene in Episode 6. Instead, she issues the command, "Retrieve him, hurry!"

You'd think that when the Strategic Self Defense Force stores something as big as that positron rifle in their Fourth Special Implements Storage building, they'd have a door on the building large enough to get the rifle in and out of. So why did Rei (in Unit 00) have to tear the bloody roof right off of the building?

The whole issue of the rifle deserves some scrutiny. Seeing as NERV had to commandeer it, it seems unlikely that the rifle was built for use by the Evangelions. So just who was it being built for?

It had to have been built for some sort of giant humanoid operator. If it had been built for remote firing of some sort, there would have been no need (and no mechanical way) for the Eva's to operate the rifle. The fact that it had a physical trigger, as well as the way in which the fuze was replaced, make remote firing seem rather unlikely.

So if not for Eva, who is this rifle for?

(Although I doubt this is the answer, the only possible candidate I can think of is Jet Alone... But Jet Alone, which we will meet next episode, seems far to gangly to operate such a precision piece of machinery.)

Usually if there is a discrepancy between the dub and the subtitled version, it is the subtitled version which makes more sense. However, here we have a case of the opposite. There is a point where in the subtitled version, a voice says, "The time is now 00:00." The picture then shows a clock. The clock reads, "23:59:57," and stays onscreen for three seconds until it reads, "00:00:00." Therefore, the person who announced the time jumped the gun by three seconds! However, the English dub actually corrects this by having the announcer say, "The time is approaching 00:00."

Shinji opens the superheated hatch on Rei's Entry Plug, much like his father did during the flashback in the previous episode. His father received rather bad burns that left his hands scarred. Shinji's hands are never seen in later episodes to be similarly scarred.

And before he even goes to help Rei out of her Entry Plug, how did Shinji get out of his? Did the Mysterious Ladder return once more? (Unit 01 is shown kneeling down, which would still put the Entry Plug high off the ground.)

Well, Shinji was wearing his suit when he opened the hatch, so his hands were covered.

Anyway, about this whole buisness of giving Rei her new card. Why can't they just mail it to her? That seems much more reliable than having some forgetful person do it by hand. True, when Shinji shows up, we see that Rei doesn't seem to be very prompt about checking her mail (see the letters sticking out of her mail slot), but that's her problem.

Also, during the Unit 00 reactivation, Shinji and Misato are there watching. Given how smoothly the last test went, why on earth are they letting anyone who doesn't absolutely have to be there come anywhere near the thing?

Well, after watching the episodes again, Misato "borrows" the JSDF's Self Propelled Positron Cannon. The rifle doesn't look like a self-propelled device to me, since any time it is moved, it is by an EVA picking it up and carrying it somewhere. It looks like NERV just took the cannon, and fitted it to an EVA sized rifle stock.

I think Misato had to be at the test because
of her position in NERV or perhaps they needed
EVA 01 ready just in case,which would also explain
Shinji's being there.
Note unlike the earlier testing they appear to
have had EVA 01 in standby mode just in case.
This turned out to be just as well considering
the Angel attack.
Actually Shinji deserved to have been slapped
since he should have just left the card on
Rei's dresser drawer and left,but he had to
stay and gawk.Idiot!
Also Rei felt rather strongly about Ikari since
he saved her life so Shinji should have been
a bit more considerate when mentioning his dad.
The funniest scene I thought was when Pen Pen
exams the curry and takes a taste.
btw:How DOES a penguuin open a can of beer?
Is Misato a distant relative of Lister?With
all that curry one would suspect they were related!

Rei apparently changes her mind toward Shinji after he opens her fused pilot capsule.

What would have happened if Shinji had missed
that second shot?

According to Misato it takes the entire power grid of Japan to power the rifle.