Sunday, 7 PM — just one hour left before Episode 12 of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' aired.
Yunteng TV's viewership had already seen a noticeable surge.
This timeslot was normally reserved for boring news broadcasts, yet Yunteng TV had already broken the 5% mark — the highest among all Great Zhou networks at the time.
By 7:30, forums and fan groups were alive with chatter.
"I heard there's an interview with Old Devil Jing Yu airing after the finale."
"Isn't that pretty standard by now?"
"Still, Jing Yu and Yunteng TV have such a tight relationship. I heard he used to be an employee there before going solo and starting his own company. But even after that, there's never been any bad blood — Yunteng TV's promos are always fully supported."
"Why wouldn't they be? Yunteng TV paid him 110 million just for the exclusive one-year broadcast rights in Great Zhou. Of course, he has to cooperate!"
"And so what if they paid 110 million? With this show averaging over 12% per episode, it's well worth the price. The production budget was over 200 million — they haven't even recouped half with that license fee."
"Don't be naive. Besides the 110 million from Yunteng TV, the overseas broadcasting rights alone are worth tens of millions — maybe even another 100 million. Not to mention the in-show ads, plus streaming revenue from Qingyun Video and other platforms — this project has already turned a profit. And don't forget merchandise and future spin-offs. You think Jing Yu's losing money?"
"Exactly. He poured in top-tier effort and got top-tier returns — as it should be."
"Whatever. I don't care about Jing Yu or Yunteng TV — I just want to know how this show ends. I'm not even hoping for romance anymore, just let the protagonist resolve things properly with the three heroines."
"You're still thinking about the love plot? There are only two or three episodes left. I still don't understand what the Human Instrumentality Project is, how it works, or what happens after it's completed. Damn it, how is Jing Yu supposed to wrap this all up in just two episodes? Please don't let it crash at the end."
"Here we go again — classic 'I'm afraid Old Devil Jing will mess up the ending' posts. Name one show he's ruined. At worst, he runs out of time and makes a second season. It's old news. Relax."
Fans spent the pre-broadcast half-hour swapping theories across every channel. What they didn't know… was what awaited them in this episode.
Episode 12 aired on schedule.
In Jing Yu's previous life, 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' had clearly accelerated its pacing in the later episodes. The creators had too many ideas but no time to include them all.
Back then, the studio behind 'Evangelion' was nearing bankruptcy. And the animation industry's revenue turnaround was notoriously slow. Even though the show performed decently from the start and later gained massive influence, that success was delayed, too late to solve their financial crisis.
By the time the show reached Episode 20, the budget was visibly strained.
Entire scenes were frozen in static shots with only voice acting to carry the plot forward.
One of the most infamous examples: the scene where Shinji kills Kaworu — a full minute of complete stillness.
No sound. No motion. Just Unit-01 holding Kaworu in its hand, while the narrative implied Shinji was hesitating, torn about whether to kill him.
But in reality?
They were stalling for time.
They needed to hit their runtime quota, so they slapped a still frame in for over a minute. Many first-time viewers thought their video players had glitched — or even feared they'd downloaded a troll version that would suddenly cut to 'Calabash Brothers'.
That said, the sudden burst of motion when Unit-01 finally crushed Kaworu had a striking beauty of its own — from silence to violence. It wasn't all bad.
So in this episode, Jing Yu made some changes to that same scene.
Still, 'Evangelion's late-stage shift into abstract, fast-paced storytelling couldn't be fully avoided. Jing Yu did what he could to tweak it — but ultimately...
Episode 12 began.
While fans were still debating whether Rei Ayanami or Asuka was the true heroine, the episode kicked off with an Angel attack.
This time, the Angel could invade an Eva pilot's mind.
Asuka, mentally wrecked by her earlier defeats, was steadily losing sync with her Eva and could no longer fight properly.
Rei Ayanami, meanwhile, was captured mid-battle. Her mind was infiltrated.
Cue another round of surreal, mind-trip storytelling — Rei confronting her own consciousness in a psychological landscape.
The entire episode carried a horror-like atmosphere.
During the battle, her Eva unit was being slowly overtaken. Shinji rushed to her aid, but he too struggled.
Just as viewers were wondering how this Angel would be defeated...
The plot took a hard left.
Under mental invasion, Rei Ayanami finally faced her inner self. And to protect the city, the base, and Shinji...
She self-destructed.
A blinding mushroom cloud lit up the sky. The visual effects were stunning.
But viewers across the country...
We were in total shock.
"Did she... die?"
"Did Rei Ayanami just die?!"
"She's really dead?"
"Rei is dead?!"
"???"
"What the hell kind of plot twist is this?"
"I can't accept this."
"HAHAHAHAHA! I knew it! Old Devil Jing would never let the story end smoothly. He's the type who stirs chaos until the very last second."
"No way… seriously?"
"REI AYANAMI!! MY REI AYANAMI!!"
"Old Devil Jing is so biased! Every time, Yu Youqing's characters win over Xia Yining's. I can't take this favoritism anymore!"
"Bro, what direction is this show even going?! Why kill off Rei Ayanami now?! What's the point?"
"I'm crying. She was my favorite character…"
Of course, the show had foreshadowed this. Rei Ayanami was an artificial being. The one viewers knew was already the second Rei.
So with her death, the third Rei arrived.
This twist jolted the audience awake — they can do that?!
But this new Rei had no memory beyond her first meeting with Shinji.
So… was she still Rei Ayanami?
Jing Yu's past life had a famous philosophical question — the Ship of Theseus.
If a ship has all its parts replaced over twenty years, is it still the same ship?
If not, when did it stop being the original?
Shinji had known Rei for less than a year — a fraction of her artificial life.
Even using the Ship of Theseus theory, the third Rei shared the same DNA and most of the same memories. She clearly inherited the traits of the Rei that Shinji had known.
But… this Rei had never spent even a single day with Shinji.
No shared battles, no conversations, no life-or-death experiences together.
No memory of that moment from Episode 3 — where Shinji, ignoring danger, opened her cockpit to save her — or of her faint smile of gratitude.
So... was she still Rei?
Shinji didn't know.
And neither did the viewers.
"Rei Ayanami is dead?"
"She's dead, right?"
"This one's just a copy."
Like copying a file on a hard drive.
But is there really a difference between the copy and the original?
Even if it lasted just a few minutes, the philosophical fallout from this episode hit the fandom like a truck. Countless viewers found themselves lost in thought.
Then the camera panned to the lab.
A basement filled with countless Rei clones floating in nutrient tanks.
All destroyed — by Misato and Ritsuko.
The audience was crushed.
Confused. Grieving. Overwhelmed.
And yet, in the final moments — the third Rei, despite lacking memory, expressed a subtle emotional response… almost like she inherited the feelings of her predecessor.
Was this memoryless Rei still Rei?
Did it matter?
The second Rei… was dead.
She died to protect Shinji and the base.
And in the end, she faced her feelings for him, fully and without regret.