Fourth Child

An organization named the Instrumentality Committee interrogates Nerv Captain Misato Katsuragi about Leliel, twelfth of a series of beings named Angels, and its attempted contact with the Eva-01 mecha and its pilot, Shinji Ikari. Misato denies any attempt. After the interrogation, Nerv captain Gendo Ikari says that the Angels are beginning to gain consciousness.

Toji Suzuhara visits his sister in the hospital. The second U.S. section of Nerv in Nevada disappears after an experiment with the Eva-04, and the US government decides to transport Eva-03 to Japan. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi discusses the Dummy System, a new piloting system, with Gendo. At school, Toji is assigned by his class leader Hikari Horaki to bring overdue homework to Rei Ayanami, who has been absent for several days. Hikari tries to offer to accompany Toji, but before she can speak she is stopped and Toji invites Shinji instead. Shinji accompanies him and, noticing Rei's dirty house, cleans her room; Rei blushes and thanks him.

Gendo and Nerv deputy commander Kozo Fuyutsuki discuss the Eva-04 incident and the Dead Sea Scrolls on a train. Ryoji Kaji, an investigator and Nerv member, tells Misato that the Marduk Institute, believed to be in charge of choosing Eva's pilots, does not exist. Kaji goes out with Shinji, discussing life and unpleasant situations in Kaji's garden. At the school in Tokyo-3 city, Toji is called by Ritsuko Akagi. During the afternoon, Toji and Hikari meet at school; Toji says that he has no one who prepares lunch for him, and Hikari offers to prepare him something to eat. In the final scene, as Eva-03 travels through the skies of America, Toji silently throws a ball into the basketball court.

File:Godzilla Resurgence World Premiere Red Carpet- Anno Hideaki (28526529431).jpg

In 1993, Neon Genesis Evangelion studio Gainax submitted a presentation for the series entitled {{nihongo|New Century Evangelion (tentative name) Proposal|新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (仮) 企画書|Shinseiki Evangelion (kari) kikakusho|}} with synopses of the planned episodes.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=1 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 2: La Proposition}} The proposal was published the following year.{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Lancement du Project Eva}}{{cite book |date=2021 |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia |chapter=History 1993-1999}} For the first twelve episodes, Gainax followed it with only a few minor script alterations.{{Cite book|author=Gainax|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection|date=1998|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|isbn=4-04-852700-2|page=88}}{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Theatralical VHS Box Booklet|language=ja|publisher=King Amusement Creative|date=1997}} From the thirteenth episode onward, the production deviated from the writers' original plan and the proposal. According to Michael House, American translator for Gainax,{{harvp|Tomo no Kai|loc=ミニミニゲリオンナ人達: Michael Houseの巻}} Neon Genesis Evangelion{{'s}} main director Hideaki Anno initially intended to give the story a happy ending; during production, however, he realized he had created problematic characters and changed his plans.{{cite web|date=November 28, 2011|url=https://www.gwern.net/docs/eva/2011-house#|title=Interviewing translator Michael House|access-date=July 23, 2020|archive-date=August 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824175245/https://www.gwern.net/docs/eva/2011-house|url-status=live|last1=House|first1=Michael}} Hiroki Azuma, a cultural critic who interviewed Anno, said that Anno began criticizing obsessive anime fans{{snd}}known as otaku{{snd}}he considered closed-minded and introverted as the series aired{{cite magazine|author=Krystian Woznicki|title=Towards a cartography of Japanese anime – Anno Hideaki's Evangelion Interview with Azuma Hiroki|magazine=Blimp Filmmagazine|publisher=Tokuma Shoten|date=September 1991}}{{cite book|year=1997|chapter=Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview|title=The End of Evangelion Theatrical Pamphlet|publisher=Gainax|language=ja}} and created a more-dramatic, introspective mid-series story.{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap 1: Diffusion à la télevision}}{{cite web|last=Azuma|first=Hiroki|title=Animé or Something Like it: Neon Genesis Evangelion|url=https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html|publisher=NTT InterCommunication Center|access-date=August 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808182031/http://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html|archive-date=August 8, 2012|url-status=live}} As noted by Azuma, while Evangelion parodied previous anime and used "a lot of clichés" in the first part, Anno later subverted the anime tropes; comic characters like Asuka and Toji "must not be seriously injured" in an anime, but Anno broke the implicit expectations with the public making them injured in battle.{{cite journal|first=Bounthavy|last= Suvilay|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion ou la déconstruction du robot anime|date=2017|publisher=Università Gustave Eiffel|journal=ReS Futurae|issue= 9|doi= 10.4000/resf.954|url=https://journals.openedition.org/resf/954|access-date=15 November 2023|language=fr|doi-access=free}}

In the original 1993 draft, the idea of an American division suddenly disappearing{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=11 |pages=25–26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{Cite book|author=Gainax|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection|date=1998|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|isbn=4-04-852700-2|page=86}} and an accident during the construction of Eva-04{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=7 |page=25|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} were already planned. The names of Hikari's sisters{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=17 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} and the Marduk Institute were also in the proposal. The Marduk Institute was described an organization that acts on the "hypothesis of new mental cranial nerve vibrations", and only orphaned teenage boys could synchronize with the Evangelions; in the final broadcast version, it is a fictitious society behind which Gendo Ikari is hiding.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=8 |pages=27–28|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} The seventeenth episode was supposed to depict Asuka's first date and Misato's past, intended as a light episode before the series reaches its climax. Elements of the initial idea later flowed into "Magmadiver", with Asuka and Kaji at a shopping mall in the opening scene, and into the episode "He Was Aware That He Was Still a Child."{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=19 |pages=25–26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} The original script of the eleventh episode, "The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still", included a mention of the S² engine taken from Shamshel's body; Ritsuko would have said that the S² engine is an unknown energy whose basic theory is "only a hypothesis".

Shinji Higuchi{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Production et catastrophes}} and Hideaki Anno wrote the screenplay for "Fourth Children",{{Cite book|author=Gainax|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection|date=1998|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|isbn=4-04-852700-2|page=178}} and Akira Oguro produced the storyboards.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=23|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=48}} Minoru Ohara directed the episode, and Mau Hanabata was its chief animator.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=27 |page=25|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} Production involved studios other than Gainax, including FAI International, Neox and Cockpit Studio.{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Staff}}{{cite book |title=Data of Evangelion|publisher=Gainax|page=23|language=ja|year=2003|editor=Gainax}} Singer Aki{{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |volume=6|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1996}} sang "Jungle Version",{{cite book|language=ja|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Laserdisc Encyclopedia|volume=9|date=1996}} a "Fly Me to the Moon" cover, as the episode's ending theme.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=26 |page=26 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{sfn|Platinum Booklet|loc=Fly Me to the Moon}}

File:Godzilla Resurgence World Premiere Red Carpet- Higuchi Shinji (27989045433).jpg wrote the script for "Fourth Child".]]

Shinji Higuchi, who worked on the episode's script,{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=61}} wrote "Fourth Child" as the "calm before the storm" of "Ambivalence" and "Introjection," focusing on the character's interpersonal relationships before showing Shinji losing the emotional support of Toji and Misato.{{sfn|Platinum Booklet|loc=Episode Commentaries}}{{cite web|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama50.shtml|title= 第50回 エヴァ雑記「第拾七話 四人目の適格者」|website=Style.fm|language=ja|access-date=July 23, 2020|first=Yūichirō|last=Oguro}} The story is preparation for the following episode in which Gendo betrays Shinji;{{harvp|Tomo no Kai|loc=ゲリオンな人達: 樋口 真嗣の達}} according to writer Virginie Nebbia, Higuchi borrowed the technique of two linked episodes from the Ultraman franchise.{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap 1: Tenir bon jusqu'à la fin}} Because of his commitments to Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996), he left the rest to Anno after writing the draft for "Fourth Children" and Ambivalence", causing problems for the production.

Higuchi wanted to emphasize the fragility of Tokyo-3 city and its infrastructure at this stage of the series, with Shinji's school portrayed as a building that can be dismantled at any time. Nerv, by contrast, is depicted as increasingly powerful.{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=61}}{{sfn|Platinum Booklet|loc=Episode Commentaries}} According to Higuchi, the relationship between Shinji and Misato is as fragile as Tokyo-3. He compared this scenario to the Return of Ultraman series. In Return of Ultraman, Hideki Go alternates between the Monster Attack Team and the Sakata family, his civilian friends and recurring characters in the series. His friends Ken and Aki Sakata, however, suddenly die in a car accident. Enjoying plots with an "overwhelming sense of impermanence," Higuchi tried to recreate a similar story; however, he regretted making Hikari a stereotypical "young girl in love". He wanted to recreate a "vacillating" adolescent mind, since he could not express himself in junior high school when he fell in love with someone. According to Higuchi, Neon Genesis Evangelion characters usually do not trust other people. Hikari falls in love with Toji, however; this contrast underscores the tragedy of Toji, who is severely injured in battle in the following episode.

Evangelion Chronicle magazine noted that it has many scenes set at dusk and distant shots, creating a third-person perspective; this directorial device presents events in an objective, detached manner, in contrast to the introspective, subjective perspective of other scenes in the series.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=31|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} Higuchi said in an interview that he disliked plots driven only by character emotion, and wanted to make something similar to Jun Ichikawa's films. Azuma noted that from the seventeenth episode onward Anno used directorial techniques similar to those of Jean-Luc Godard. According to Azuma, however, Anno was not directly influenced by Godard; Anno named among his influences Kihachi Okamoto instead, a director influenced by Godard. The episode's filmbook noted that Kaji is possibly modeled on UFO{{'s}} Captain Foster.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=6 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=20}} Higuchi said that Anno asked him to portray Kaji like Masao Kusakari, who played Shunsuke Ryuzaki in the television series Pro Hunter. Furthermore, the episode has a vending-machine scene typical of Gunbuster, an earlier work by Anno.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=6 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=21}}

The original title of the episode is "Fourth Children."{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=140}} Pilots in the series are called "Children," even a single pilot.{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=6|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=7}} According to writers Kazuhisa Fujie and Martin Foster, the term may refer to the "children of God" mentioned in the New Testament.{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=169}} The choice to retain the plural for individual pilots has been interpreted as foreshadowing the fact that Rei has many clones,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=138}}{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=9|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=29}} and as an homage to the anime series Space Runaway Ideon.{{cite web|language=it|access-date=15 March 2020|url=https://blog.screenweek.it/2019/06/evangelion-cannarsi-conferma-che-khara-ha-chiesto-una-grande-aderenza-al-testo-690277.php/|title=Evangelion – Cannarsi conferma che Khara ha chiesto una grande aderenza al testo|date=26 June 2019|archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127171140/https://blog.screenweek.it/2019/06/evangelion-cannarsi-conferma-che-khara-ha-chiesto-una-grande-aderenza-al-testo-690277.php/|url-status=live}} Academic Masaki Miyakawa compared the scene in which Nerv's staff is around a table after the Second Branch incident to a similar scene in the 1974 anime series Space Battleship Yamato,{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=61}} while Japanese writer Taro Igarashi interpreted the scene in which the Nerv train seems suspended in the air as a possible homage to Galaxy Express 999.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=94}} The names of Hikari's sisters, Nozomi and Kodama, are Japanese high-speed trains.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=151}}{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=34}} "Fourth Child" also cites the JS Myōkō destroyer.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=156}} A Nerv site in Matsushiro is named; in the actual Matsushiro, there is an underground Japanese imperial headquarters,{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=4|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=57}} whose space Nerv used.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=154}}{{cite book |author=Gualtiero Cannarsi|title=Evangelion Encyclopedia|volume=6 |pages=30 |publisher=Dynamic Italia |language=it}}

"Fourth Child" also refers to scientific concepts and religion, particularly Christianity. Early in the episode, Dr. Akagi says that the second U.S. branch of Nerv was probably swallowed by a Dirac sea{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=6|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=9}} and disappeared.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=28}}{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=48}} The expression refers to Paul Dirac's vacuum theoretic model,{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=18|page=24 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=55}} but critics have linked Evangelion{{'s}} depiction of the Dirac sea more to the version presented in the novel {{nihongo|Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights|億の昼と千億の夜|Oku no hiru to sen oku no yoru}} by Ryu Mitsuse than the actual Dirac sea.{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=62}}{{cite book|language=ja|title=Animage|date=September 1997|page=20}} In another scene, portfolios of Shinji and other characters are seen in which the term apoptosis is mentioned.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=9}} The Dead Sea Scrolls of Seele, inspired by the real Qumran scrolls,{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=26}}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=45 |page=27|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} are also mentioned.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|pp=66-57}}{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=49}} In the original storyboard, the Seele was supposed to be called "Essenes", a Second Temple Judaism sect.{{cite book|title=Evangelion Original II TV版劇本集|publisher=Taiwan Toyo Sales Co., Ltd.|isbn=957-643-751-2|chapter=Episode #17|language=ja}} Kazuhiza Fujie and Martin Foster wrote that the Dead Sea Scrolls were reportedly deposited by the Essenes.{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=63}}

Kaji tells Misato that the Marduk Institute is a fictitious corporation behind which Nerv hides.{{Cite book|author=Gainax|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection|date=1998|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|isbn=4-04-852700-2|page=82}} The institute's name refers to the Babylonian deity Marduk,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|pp=154-155}} known by dozens of epithets;{{cite book|chapter=Data Files|title=Evangelion Collection|date=2008 |volume=2|publisher=Panini Comics|page=5|isbn=978-88-63462838}}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=27|page=22|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} Neon Genesis Evangelion{{'s}} Marduk Institute analogously consists of dozens of fictitious enterprises.{{sfn|Platinum Booklet|loc=Episode Commentaries}}{{cite book|language=ja|date=1995|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Genesis 0:8 Laserdisc Encyclopedia|chapter=Explanation|publisher=Starchild Stereo}} In the final scene Eva-03 is carried, crucified, in the air.{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=6|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=28}} The cross is a recurring motif in the series; according to an Evangelion program book, it has the double meaning of bloody death and self-sacrifice but it is unclear which meaning the series uses.{{cite book|chapter=用語集|title=Death & Rebirth Program Book|year=1997|publisher=Gainax|language=ja|edition=Special}} In an interview Kazuya Tsurumaki stated that Christian symbols were used for artistic reasons by the staff because they were considered "cool" to its Japanese audience and to distinguish Neon Genesis Evangelion from other mecha anime.{{cite web|language=de |title=Interview mit Tsurumaki Kazuya (Studio GAINAX) |url=http://www.tomodachi.de/html/archiv/funime/f27_kurz_1.html |publisher=Anime No Tomodachi |access-date=September 8, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170903064443/http://www.tomodachi.de/html/archiv/funime/f27_kurz_1.html|archive-date=September 3, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first=Owen|last=Thomas|url=http://www.akadot.com/article/article-tsurumaki2.html|title=Amusing Himself to Death: Kazuya Tsurumaki speaks about the logic and illogic that went into creating FLCL|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020110094207/http://www.akadot.com/article/article-tsurumaki2.html|archive-date=January 10, 2002|access-date=December 13, 2020}}

The episode has a scene with Rei in the Dummy Plug Implant, which is formed by a test tube-like implant and brain-like tubes.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=16 |page=21|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=6|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=10}} There is a magic square on the floor,{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=42}} and the letters A, C, G and T {{snd}}corresponding to the four nucleotide bases{{snd}} are visible in the room.{{cite web|url=https://www.abcb.com/trivia/eva_1501.htm|title=Café Trivia|publisher=The Anime Café|access-date=23 July 2022}}{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=157}} The magic square, from The Psychological Attitude of Early Buddhist Philosophy by Anagarika Govinda, represents the structure and development of human consciousness. It has an outer rim and four stars, which writers Víctor Sellés de Lucas and Manuel Hernández-Pérez compared with The Lesser Key of Solomon.{{sfn|Sellés de Lucas|Hernández-Pérez|2024|p=229}} According to academic Tomoko Sakamoto and series staff, the device backs up Rei's memory.{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=176–177}}{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=109}} The {{nihongo|Evangelion Glossary|エヴァンゲリオン用語事典 |Evangerion Yougo Jiten}} by Yahata Shoten also linked the Dummy System to Karl H. Pribram's holonomic brain theory, according to which memory is not limited to a specific part of the brain.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|pp=128-129}}

Ritsuko names the Super-Solenoid engine, also known as the S² engine, in "Fourth Child". Evangelion Chronicle magazine compared the engine to a perpetual motion machine such as the Archimedean spiral {{snd}}believed to be incompatible with the laws of thermodynamics{{snd}} and to the anthropic principle, according to which there is hidden energy in genes which has advanced life.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=11|pages=19–20|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} Acquired through the Angel Shamshel,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=30}} it gives powers to the Angels{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=50}} and can be linked to the Biblical fruit of life{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=17 |page=24|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=12 |page=21|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=171}} and tree of life.{{cite journal|last=Bartoli|first=Fabio|url=http://www.antrocom.net/upload/sub/antrocom/040108/06-Antrocom.pdf|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion e la Kabbalah: dal Tempo di dolore al Tempo Benedetto|year=2008|journal=Antrocom|volume=4|issue=1|page=30|access-date=April 18, 2020|language=it|archive-date=April 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422065644/http://www.antrocom.net/upload/sub/antrocom/040108/06-Antrocom.pdf|url-status=live}} In a statement for the liner notes of "Fourth Child", Evangelion assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki linked the anthropic principle to Lyall Watson's hundredth monkey phenomenon, a hypothetical scenario according to which consciousness can alter reality and something that was previously nonexistent can become real the moment it is thought real. According to Tsurumaki, quantum physics could also be related to the hundredth monkey phenomenon, which is not to be understood as a rigidly fixed number, and even a single person can modify reality, making their dreams become true.{{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |volume=6|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1996}}

"Fourth Child" has elements of scholastic romantic comedy, focusing on character emotions and relationships. Asuka scolds Shinji for forgetting their lunch,{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=27|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} and Toji says that they look like two bickering spouses.{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=156}}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=15 |page=28|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} Hikari's feminine side,{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=6 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=26}} Rei's emotions and Shinji's evolution are also explored.{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Episode 17: Fourth Child}} Misato is perplexed by a choice{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=6 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=23}} and, unlike Ritsuko, tries to prioritize her feelings, which has sparked past disagreements with Ritsuko.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=6 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=13}} In another scene, Ritsuko gives Rei a look suggesting frustration or jealousy, a foreshadowing of Ritsuko's relationship with Gendo.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=15 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} Rei, who had been cold, blushes at Shinji's kindness and realizes that she never expressed gratitude to Gendo, indicating her evolution{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=6 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=17}}{{cite magazine|title=Children|magazine=Death & Rebirth Program Book (Special Edition)|year=1997|publisher=GAINAX|language=ja|url=http://www.evaotaku.com/html/dr2-children.html|access-date=April 25, 2020|archive-date=8 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808201305/http://www.evaotaku.com/html/dr2-children.html|url-status=live}} and increased emotion. Newtype magazine noted that when Shinji cleans Rei's room Toji points out how he has changed from their first meeting,{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=6 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=16}} in which he was a lonely person who "did not want to engage with other people".{{cite book|title=Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|year=2005|language=ja|page=51}}{{cite magazine|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=April 1996|language=ja|page=15|title=少年は神話になる}} Furthermore, Ritsuko and Commander Ikari discuss the Dummy System, saying that "the soul cannot be digitized".{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap 2: Numériser une âme}} The concept of a soul is examined later in the series,{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=17 |page=23|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} and Nerv treats it as a concrete entity. Dennis Redmond interpreted this as a "stinging critique of East Asia's indigenous industrialism".{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=156}} Redmond also wrote that the disappearance of the Nerv base in Nevada is reminiscent of the post-Cold War scenario of Half-Life, which depicts a similar catastrophe at the Black Mesa Research Facility in Arizona.{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=156}}

Commander Ikari argues in another scene with Fuyutsuki about the city of Tokyo-3 in a train, saying that after the expulsion from Eden, humanity took refuge in cities{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=27 |page=21|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} with the help of science; the dialogue refers to the book of Genesis.{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=102}} According to the series' film books, the scene reveals a number of mysteries about the Evangelion plot.{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=6|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=19}} Redmond wrote that the dialogue implies that Gendo "is not the stereotypical mad scientist", revealing an "unexpected vein of humanity" in him.{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=157}} According to writer Taro Igarashi, unlike other science fiction stories like Blade Runner, Tokyo-3 is not depicted as a typical dirty dystopian city, but as a Japanese post-Second World War city, as if the Second Impact catastrophe had not occurred.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|pp=88-89}} Igarashi linked Tokyo-3 depiction with a comment of Anno included in the first volume of the Evangelion manga, in which he describes the Evangelion setting as a world in which "the shelves of convenience stores are filled".{{Cite book |last=Sadamoto |first=Yoshiyuki |author-link=Yoshiyuki Sadamoto |others=Essay by Hideaki Anno; translated by Mari Morimoto, English adaptation by Fred Burke |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion, Vol. 1 |date=December 1998 |orig-year=1995 |publisher=VIZ Media LLC |location=San Francisco |isbn=1-56931-294-X |pages=170–171 |chapter=What were we trying to make here?}} Higarashi also noted that Gendo and Fuyutsuki describes Tokyo-3 as a city of cowards who run away from their enemies; he linked the description of Tokyo-3 to Shinji, whom he described as an "autistic" character.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=93}} As noted by Igarashi, Tokyo-3 is depicted as a miniature city closed to others and that serves as a metaphor for the ego.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=93}} Noting how it has a cruciform shape, Igarashi linked it shape to a four-part garden, a possible reference to the Paradise.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=90}}

In the first scene, Misato is questioned by the Instrumentality Committee;{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46|page=24|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} Misato rejects the possibility of systematic action by the Angels, to which the Commission corresponds: "Their actions are independent, so far".{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=19 |page=13|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} At the end of the session, Gendo says: "The Angels are beginning to attain intelligence".{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=48}} The possibility of Angels learning and evolving is introduced.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46|page=32|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} According to academic Satoshi Tsukamoto, the Angels "are attempting to acquire abilities to compete against human beings and control them".{{sfn|Tsukamoto|2022|p=39}} Japanese writer Masashi Kitamura agreed that the Angels gradually progress in communicating with the Evas they fight, and send messages to Shinji during the series.{{sfn|Tsukamoto|2022|p=39}} In another scene, Kaji takes Shinji to his melon field; Evangelion Chronicle noted that the melons' shape resembles that of the Angel Leliel.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46|page=29|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} According to Redmond, Kaji's field indicates that Nerv's geofront "is also the symbolic global ecology of Tokyo-3's multinational city".{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=158}} Perhaps concerned about Shinji, Kaji begins to address unpleasant things and the pleasure of seeing something grow; Kaji tells Shinji that those who suffer show kindness to others.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=11 |page=21|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=28|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} The theme of "unpleasant things" had been already explored in the previous episode.

Another episode theme is masculinity, which had been addressed in previous episodes of the series. Misato tells Shinji to act like a man in the early episodes,{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Episode 2: The Beast}}{{cite book|language=ja|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Laserdisc Encyclopedia|volume=1|date=1996}} and Asuka takes him aback with phrases like "You are a man, aren't you?"{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Episode 9: Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!}}{{cite book|language=ja|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Laserdisc Encyclopedia|volume=5|date=1996}} which question his masculinity.{{cite book|title=Evangelion Encyclopedia|last=Cannarsi|first=Gualtiero|volume=5|page=24|publisher=Dynamic Italia|language=it}}{{cite book|title=Evangelion Encyclopedia|last=Cannarsi|first=Gualtiero|volume=6|page=44|publisher=Dynamic Italia|language=it}} In the vending-machine scene, Kaji suggests going out to Shinji and Shinji replies, "I'm a boy"; this could mean that the boy is trying to find self-confidence, and is accepting his masculine role. In contrast, academic Cristopher Smith said that after being trapped in the Eva-01 cockpit and the womb-like Leliel in the previous episode, Shinji's violent masculinity collapses; in "Fourth Child", he returns to his normal speech patterns and happily cleans Rei’s apartment.{{cite journal |url=https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol23/iss1/smith.html |title="Otoko no ko deshou?" Evangelion and Queer Masculinity |first=Cristopher |last=Smith |journal=Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies |volume=23 |issue=1 |date=2023 |publisher=University of Florida |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417195028/https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol23/iss1/smith.html |archive-date=17 April 2023}} Toji is also a boy trying to act forcibly masculine. Yūichirō Oguro, editor of the extra materials for the series' home-video editions, noted that Toji wears a track suit despite not being good at sports. In the scene where Toji and Shinji visit Rei's room, Toji says that cleaning is not something a real man should do. Oguro related this theme to the novel {{nihongo|Ai to gensō no fascism|愛と幻想のファシズム||"The Fascism of Love and Fantasy"}} by Ryū Murakami, from which the names Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida are taken; in Murakami's novel, machismo is explored and masculinity is seen as an illusion.{{harvp|Tomo no Kai|loc=「男」を演じる。滑稽な事}} Toji's behaviour changes after his selection as an Eva pilot, probably because he knows Shinji's pain in piloting the Eva.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=24 |page=24|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} According to Yūichirō Oguro, the episode's final scene, in which Toji plays basketball, represents his final decision.

"Fourth Child" was first broadcast on January 24, 1996, and had a 7.3-percent audience share on Japanese television.{{cite magazine |magazine=Newtype |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |date=April 1996 |page=74 |language=ja |title=Anime Land}} Merchandise based on the episode, including a line of tee shirts,{{sfn |Porori |2010 |p=125}} has been released.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=10 |page=28 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{cite book |title=E-Mono |publisher=Gainax |page=113 |language=ja |date=1997 |isbn=4-04-852868-8}}

The episode received a mixed reception. Film School Rejects' Maxi Covill said that there is a lot of world-building in "Fourth Child", making the episode "a little on the slow side".{{cite web|first=Max|last=Covill|publisher=Film School Rejects|website=Filmschollrejects.com|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/2/|title=Every Episode of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' Ranked|date=17 June 2019|access-date=21 March 2021|archive-date=8 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108222245/https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/2/|url-status=live}} The Anime Café's Akio Nagatomi noted that the animation quality declined, and criticized the writing: "It almost feels as if the writers had run out of materials, and they're trying to fill in the time to make their allocated 24-episode slot". According to Nagatomi, the writers could have better set up the plot twist of Toji being the Fourth Child. He also criticized the long scenes of Gendo and Fuyutsyki on the train: "Their entire conversation could have been presented in far less time, without covering all the other extraneous garbage".{{cite web |url=https://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t017.htm |first=Akio|last=Nagatomi|title=Shinseiki Evangelion Review - Episode 17: The 4th Child / The Fourth Children |publisher=The Anime Café |access-date=23 July 2022}} Other reviewers were more appreciative. Newtype described the representation of Hikari's feelings as "touching".{{cite magazine|title=Stray Children|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|date=March 1996|page=7}}{{cite book|title=Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|year=2005|language=ja|page=41}} DVD Talk plauded "Fourth Child" and the previous two installments as "excellent" for their "consistent batch of character drama and lighter moments".{{cite web|publisher=DVD Talk|website=dvdtalk.com|access-date=17 November 2024|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/13930|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Volume 4 (Platinum Collection)|date=28 December 2004|author=Randy Miller III|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227070856/https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/13930|archive-date=27 February 2024}} Digitally Obsessed's Joel Cunningham gave "Fourth Child" a positive review, praising the episode's plot presentation and writing that "nicely illustrates the balance this series is able to maintain".{{cite web |access-date=30 May 2021 |url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=985 |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:5 (1995) |date=28 February 2001 |publisher=Digitally Obsessed! |website=Digitallyobsessed.com |first=Joel |last=Cunningham |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416022346/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=985}} Anime News Network's Martin Theron praised "Fourth Child" and the other episodes of the story arc: "Nothing that happens in these episodes is coincidence. Even the smallest details matter".{{cite web |first=Theron |last=Martin |title=Review – Neon Genesis Evangelion DVD 4: Platinum Edition |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/neon-genesis-evangelion/dvd-4 |website=Anime News Network |access-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108054240/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/neon-genesis-evangelion/dvd-4 |archive-date=8 January 2023}} GameFan magazine praised "Fourth Child" and "Ambivalence", giving the highest rating for the episodes' story.{{cite journal |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Genesis 0:9 |date=November 1997 |volume=5 |issue=11 |page=162 |publisher=Metropolis Media |journal=GameFan |url=https://archive.org/details/GameFan9700/GameFan%20Vol.%205%20-%2011%20%28Nov%201997%29%20Crash%20Bandicoot%202%20-%20Cortex%20Strikes%20Back/page/n163/mode/2up?q=evangelion&view=theater |access-date=15 November 2023}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |volume=9|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1996|ref = {{harvid|Tomo no Kai}}}}
• {{cite book |first=Kentaro |last=Takekuma |title=Anno Hideaki Parano Evangerion|language=ja |year=1997 |publisher=Ōta Shuppan |isbn=4-87233-316-0}}
• {{cite book | date = 1997 | first = Kaichiro| last= Morikawa | title=The Evangelion Style|publisher=Daisan Shokan|language=ja|isbn=4-8074-9718-9}}
• {{cite book| title = エヴァンゲリオン用語事典 第2版| date = 1998| publisher = 八幡書店| language = ja| isbn= 978-4-89350-327-5| ref = {{harvid|Glossary|1998}}}}
• {{cite book|last1=Fujie|first1=Kazuhisa|last2=Foster|first2=Martin|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide|year=2004|publisher=DH Publishing, Inc.|location=United States|isbn=0-9745961-4-0}}
• {{cite book |first=Dennis |last=Redmond |title=The World is Watching: Video as Multinational Aesthetics, 1968–1995 |date=2004 |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |isbn=0-8093-2535-7}}
• {{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Booklet |volume=4 |publisher=ADV |ref = {{harvid|Platinum Booklet}} }}
• {{Cite book|first=Alessandra|last=Poggio|language=it|year=2008|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Encyclopedia|publisher=Dynit}}
• {{cite book |year= 2009 |first= Syunsou |last= Porori|title=The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side A |publisher=Glénat Editions |isbn=978-2-7234-7120-6|language=fr}}
• {{cite book |first= Syunsou|last= Porori|title=The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side B|language=fr |publisher=Glénat Editions |year=2010|isbn=978-2-7234-7121-3}}
• {{cite journal |first=Satoshi |last=Tsukamoto |title=The Enigmatic Power of Neon Genesis Evangelion |date=2022 |publisher=Aichi University |journal=文明 |volume=21 |issue=48 |url=https://aichiu.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/11272/files/035-048%E5%A1%9A%E6%9C%AC.pdf|access-date=15 November 2023}}
• {{cite book |last1=Nebbia |first1=Virginie |title=La Saga Evangelion: L'oeuvre d'une vie |language=fr |publisher=Third Editions |date=2023 |isbn=978-2-3778-4430-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TT7aEAAAQBAJ |access-date=2023-10-25 |archive-date=2023-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025081027/https://books.google.it/books?id=TT7aEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=it#v=onepage&q&f=false#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}
• {{cite journal|access-date=10 May 2024|last=Muir|first=Emily Wati|title=To Face the World Alone or Together: Jus ad Bellum and the Lives of Child Soldiers in Neon Genesis Evangelion|date=2023|journal=Law, Technology and Humans|volume=5|issue=1|pages=40–57|url=https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/LawTechHum/2023/4.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510100958/https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/LawTechHum/2023/4.html#fn112|archive-date=10 May 2024|publisher=Queensland University of Technology}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Sellés de Lucas|first1=Victor|last2=Hernández-Pérez|first2=Manuel|title=Exegesis and authorial agency through Judeo-Christian iconography in Japanese anime: Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-97) as an open work|journal=Imafronte|issue=31|pages=224–237|publisher=Universidad de Murcia|date=2024}}

{{refend}}

• {{IMDb episode|0781964}}

{{Neon Genesis Evangelion}}

Category:1996 Japanese television episodes

Category:Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes

Category:Science fiction television episodes