Splitting of the Breast

Shinji Ikari and Asuka Soryu Langley, two fellow pilots of the Evangelion mecha units, continue their domestic lives at the home of Misato Katsuragi, their superior at the paramilitary agency Nerv. Asuka accuses Shinji of being too self-nihilistic. Meanwhile, Shinji beats Asuka in a test with the Evas and Misato praises him. Leliel, the twelfth in a series of enemies called Angels, appears as a floating sphere in the skies of Tokyo-3 city. Asuka's pride is wounded by Shinji's achievement and provokes him, Shinji decides to attack the enemy alone but is absorbed with his Evangelion Unit-01 into its shadow.

Ritsuko Akagi, head of Nerv's scientific department, determines Leliel exists on a higher dimension of existence, which can only be explained using abstract mathematical concepts. The Angel's shadow on the ground is its actual body and the sphere in the sky is its true shadow. Nerv prepares a recovery strategy for Eva-01. Shinji, who is suspended between life and death in a space called the Dirac sea, has a vision in which he argues with a younger version of himself on a train. During a stream of consciousness, he feels the presence of his mother, who died years earlier in a mysterious accident. Before the recovery operation begins, Eva-01 violently emerges under its own power from Leliel, much to the horror of the onlookers. Shinji is recovered alive and physically well in the aftermath but is somewhat unsettled by his experiences.

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

In 1993, Gainax wrote a presentation document for Neon Genesis Evangelion 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|}}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=1 |page=26|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} containing the initial synopses of the planned episodes.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=19 |page=23|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Cap. 2: La Proposition}} The Proposal document was then published in 1994.{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Lancement du Project Eva}} For the first twelve episodes aired, the company followed the proposal's schedule with only a few minor script differences.{{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 from the submission document. According to Michael House, translator for Gainax,{{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |chapter=ミニミニゲリオンナ人達: Michael Houseの巻|volume=9|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1996}} Neon Genesis Evangelion{{'s}} main director Hideaki Anno initially intended to give the story a happy ending but during production, he realized he had created problematic characters so he 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}} According to Hiroki Azuma, a culture critic who interviewed Anno, during the airing of the series, Anno began to criticize obsessive anime fans, known as otaku, whom he considered closed-minded and introverted, and changed his original plans by creating a more-dramatic,{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap 1: Diffusion à la télevision}} introspective mid-series story.{{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}}{{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}}

In the first draft, the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth episodes of the series would have constituted a trilogy with a common theme. The title {{nihongo|"The Sickness Unto Death, and"|死に至る病、そして|Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite}} was initially planned for the fourteenth episode, during which, Shinji would have understood desperation and fear. In the following episode, Shinji would decide to pilot Eva-01 again after a recovery. In the sixteenth, initially called {{nihongo|"In the heart of the enemy"|敵の心の中で|Teki no kokoro no naka de|}}, Shinji would have been absorbed into an enemy, and there would have been a first attempt at communication between humans and Angels.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=19|page=25 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} The writers abandoned the original plans and some of the ideas for the trilogy were later transferred and condensed into "Splitting of the Breast"; other ideas were transferred into the nineteenth episode "Introjection".{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=19|pages=23–24 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} Hideaki Anno and Hiroshi Yamaguchi wrote the screenplay,{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=27|page=25|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{harvp|Nebbia|2023|loc=Chap. 1: Production et catastrophes}} while Kazuya Tsurumaki produced the storyboards.{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=44}}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=11|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }} Tsurumaki directed the episode{{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 assistant character designer,{{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}} with Masahiko Ohtsuka and Ken Ando as assistant directors. Shinya Hasegawa worked as chief animator.{{cite book|title=新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 原画集 Groundwork of Evangelion|volume=2|language=ja|page=251|publisher=Ground Works|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/3/37/Groundwork_of_EVANGELION_VOL.2_JP.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026093218/https://retrocdn.net/images/3/37/Groundwork_of_EVANGELION_VOL.2_JP.pdf|archive-date=26 October 2023|isbn=978-4903713014|date=2020}} Production involved studios other than Gainax; these were Cosmos, Tokyo Photo Studio, and FAI International.

"Splitting of the Breast" represents a turning point in the narrative of Neon Genesis Evangelion. According to academic Emily Wati Muir, the series, which initially presented as a children's anime, takes a "pivotal turn" after this episode, presenting explicit themes like sex and violence.{{cite journal|first=Emily Wati|last=Muir|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|page=44|publisher=QUT}} Hiroki Azuma similarly noted the first half of series unfolds like a normal mecha anime in which the characters are positively depicted and the story seems to be moving toward a happy ending. The first part of the episode follows this traditional narrative line but the second half presents an abrupt change of direction.{{cite book|year=1997|chapter=Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview|title=The End of Evangelion Theatrical Pamphlet|publisher=Gainax|language=ja}}{{cite web|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama49.shtml|title=第49回 エヴァ雑記「第拾六話 死に至る病、そして」|website=Style.fm|language=ja|access-date=July 23, 2020|first=Yūichirō|last=Oguro}} According to academic Christopher Thuony, starting from "Splitting of the Breast", the series' grand narrative structure is destroyed in favor of as proliferation of small, character-based narratives; this process is "deployed through a liberation of a logic of quotation that gradually undermines the overarching narrative of salvation by producing a multitude of enigmas and an excess of information".{{Cite journal|last=Thouny|first=Christophe|title=Waiting for the Messiah: The Becoming-Myth of "Evangelion" and "Densha otoko"|year=2009|journal=Mechademia|volume=4|page=119|doi=10.1353/mec.0.0066|s2cid=52219780|doi-access=free}}

Director Anno's increased interest in psychology influenced the change of direction. During the writing of the fourteenth episode "Weaving a Story", Anno decided to include an internal monologue of the character of Rei Ayanami, an introverted Evangelion pilot, for the first time, depicting her as a schizophrenic character{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=93-97}} but feeling unlike the character{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=97-100}} he was stuck and could not write the monologue. To help him, a friend of him a magazine-like book on mental illness called {{nihongo|Bessatsu Takarajima|別冊宝島}},{{cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/19/18683634/neon-genesis-evangelion-hideaki-anno-depression-shinji-anime-characters-movies |title=Neverending Evangelion |author=Aaron Stewart-Ahn |website=Polygon |date=19 June 2019|access-date=17 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225231801/https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/19/18683634/neon-genesis-evangelion-hideaki-anno-depression-shinji-anime-characters-movies |archive-date=25 December 2019 |url-status=live}} which included a poem written by a mentally ill person.{{cite book |chapter=庵野 秀明 - Part II|title=Zankoku na tenshi no you ni |publisher=Magazine Magazine |year=1997 |isbn=4-906011-25-X}} Although he had attended a psychology course at university, Anno never read psychoanalysis books; with Evangelion, he tried to talk about himself and find the words to express his emotions; Bessatsu Takarajima{{'s}} book gave him a shock.{{cite magazine|editor=Miyako Graham|title=Anecdotes from Mr. Hideaki Anno|page=41|magazine=Protoculture Addicts|issue=43|year=1996}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/28/evangelion-neon-genesis-ending-explained|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Explained: Ending Differences and Reasons|date=16 July 2019|publisher=IGN|first=Vrai|last=Kaiser|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921030313/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/28/evangelion-neon-genesis-ending-explained|archive-date=21 September 2023|access-date=15 November 2023}} After reading the book, he shifted the concept of the series toward introspection and trying to understand how the human mind works.{{cite web|first=Lawrence|last=Eng|url=http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/spring97/05_03b.html|title=In the Eyes of Hideaki Anno, Writer and Director of Evangelion|publisher=CJas.org|access-date=September 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709031758/http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/spring97/05_03b.html|archive-date=July 9, 2009|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|script-title=ja:ＥＶＡ ＳＰＥＣＩＡＬ ＴＡＬＫ ｗｉｔh 庵野秀明＋上野俊哉|magazine=Newtype|date=November 1996|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten}}

{{multiple image

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Production of "Splitting of the Breast" started before work on the fourteenth episode. The Leliel episode was originally intended to include a simple, traditional battle following the track established by the previous episodes "Magmadiver", "The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still" and "She said, "Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred."". The production staff, however, decided to include an installment with an Angel that is more interested in humans than in their annihilation to avoid revealing the mysteries about the Angels' true nature. In the initial scenario, Leliel would select Japanese from the verses of some animals and several human languages so it could communicate with Shinji. Tsurumaki forbade the use of human language for the Angel,{{cite web |url=https://togetter.com/li/580471 |title=大阪芸術大学「庵野秀明監督×小池一夫先生」特別講義まとめ |date=22 October 2013 |language=ja |access-date=31 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102233613/https://togetter.com/li/580471 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |url-status=live}} finding the idea "too anti-climactic" and "pulp fiction", and devised the final scenario, in which "Shinji converses with himself".{{cite journal|editor=Gainax|title=Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview|journal=The End of Evangelion Program Book|year=1997|language=ja}} Tsurumaki also suggested the dialogue between the two Shinji within Leliel's shadow, which was inspired by a dream he had.

For a scene depicting a battle against Leliel, the staff designed a gun similar to an Israeli Desert Eagle 50AE for the Eva-01.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=22|page=23|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=54}} In the same sequence, the characters speak through holographic screens, a technique that was used in Gunbuster, a previous Gainax work.{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=55}} The design of Leliel was inspired by the artistic currents of surrealism{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|page=53}} and optical art.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=23|pages=3–4 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46|page=16 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} Japanese architect Yasutaka Yoshimura compared Leliel's design with Bridget Riley's work Fragment 5.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|pp=32-33}}

The scene in which Shinji is trapped inside Leliel uses experimental animation techniques. The crew depicted Shinji's face distorted with a fisheye effect with a sunset in the background in the scene, a technique that Newtype magazine compared to Ultraman.{{cite book|title=Newtype Complete Shinseiki Evangerion|script-title=ja:Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン|trans-title=Newtype Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|year=2005|language=ja|page=79}} Evangelion Chronicle magazine similarly compared the sequence of Shinji floating into space seeing his mother to Mobile Suit Gundam, in which the protagonist Amuro Ray and Lalah Sune are seen communicating while floating in a sea of stars.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=22|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja }}{{cite web|access-date=29 October 2019|title=The Evolution of Evangelion: Rebuild vs. TV|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2016-02-19/the-evolution-of-evangelion-rebuild-vs-tv/.98581|publisher=Anime News Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029083628/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2016-02-19/the-evolution-of-evangelion-rebuild-vs-tv/.98581|archive-date=29 October 2019|url-status=live}} The voice of Shinji and the other Shinji, Leliel itself, is expressed through white lines that move on a black background, with only the voice of the voice actress in the background.{{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}} Anno wanted to create images with just voices with a minimum amount of visual information.{{cite web|url=https://logmi.jp/business/articles/53895|title=庵野秀明氏、エヴァに登場する声と線だけのアニメについて「最低限の情報量で作りたかった」 #ニコニコ超会議2015|date=April 2015|publisher=Logmi Biz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130161639/https://logmi.jp/business/articles/53895|archive-date=30 November 2022|language=ja}} According to him, since animation is made of graphic symbols and is a fiction, "a lie from the beginning", using rough drawings without using celluloid would have allowed him to destroy the stereotypes of people who think that only traditional celluloid animation can be considered a finished product.{{cite magazine|script-title=ja:EVA, 再擧 庵野秀明 Special Interview|magazine=Newtype|date=June 1996|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|pages=10–15|language=ja}} Tsurumaki originally took inspiration from a scene at the end of the Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise film (1987); he initially wanted to make a scene in which in the midst of a dizzying vortex of images all the people from Shinji's past memories spoke, but it was impossible to make it happen and Anno didn't like it. Anno, on the other hand, found the idea of using lines brilliant, since "no one had done something similar before".{{sfn|Takekuma|1997|pp=172-175}}

In 2003, Gainax released a new edition of the series named Renewal. For the Renewal, it used a telecine from the original 16mm film for all the episodes, but after the original airing the 16mm negative for “Splitting of the Breast” was lost and Gainax used a lower quality 35mm internegative for the Renewal and all subsequent home video releases.{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=4}}{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2015-06-17/neon-genesis-evangelion-new-japanese-blu-ray-and-dvd-sets-outlined/.89379|title= Neon Genesis Evangelion's New Japanese Blu-ray & DVD Sets Outlined|date=17 June 2015|publisher=Anime News Network|access-date=13 April 2024}}

{{multiple image

| footer = Megumi Ogata, Shinji's voice actress, stated that she felt pain recording "Splitting of the Breast". Yuko Miyamura, voice of Asuka, played unidentified background characters. The soundtrack, composed by Shiro Sagisu, has also been analyzed by anime critics.

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Miki Nagasawa, Kotono Mitsuishi, Yuko Miyamura, Koichi Nagano, Tetsuya Iwanaga, Takehito Koyasu, Megumi Hayashibara and Fumihiko Tachiki, members of the series' primary voice staff, voiced several unidentified background characters in "Splitting of the Breast".{{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |volume=8|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1996}} Megumi Ogata, Shinji's voice actor, stated she felt pain while recording the episode, saying "Anno is a sadist".{{cite book|title=Animedia|publisher=Gakken|language=ja|date=April 1996|page=17}}

Shiro Sagisu composed the original soundtrack for "Splitting of the Breast" and the remainder of the series. The musical pieces "Misato", "Angel Attack", "Spending time in preparation", "Marking Time, Waiting for Death", "Borderline Case", and "Mother is the First Other" are used throughout the installment.{{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |volume=13|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1998}} "Borderline Case" and "Mother is the First Other" include a Bulgarian-style chorus that was created using a synthesizer. According to the official booklet of the album Refrain of Evangelion: "this song has a sense of uplifting warm feelings that represent a mother and a comfortable existence, but simultaneously it also brings out the realization of the independent entity of self".{{cite book|title=Refrain of Evangelion booklet|publisher=King Records|date=2003|language=ja}} The piece "Marking Time, Waiting for Death" consists of two halves with different tones; the first has the "quiet tension" of a piano and the second has a music-like sound from a fierce battle scene. "Spending time in preparation" is an alternative version of the song "Decisive Battle", used in previous episodes. "Decisive Battle" has been compared with the music from James Bond films, particularly that from "From Russia with Love" (1963).{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=59}}{{cite book|language=ja|publisher=King Records|title=Symphony of Evangelion booklet|date=1997}}

Writer Masaki Miyakawa compared "Angel Attack" and "Decisive Battle" to the compositions of Japanese special effects tokusatsu films, such as Godzilla; "Angel Attack" has been compared to the soundtrack of Ryūichi Sakamoto's film The Last Emperor (1987), and the song {{nihongo|"Kyūchi ni tatsu Gandamu"|窮地に立つガンダム||{{lit|Gundam in trouble}}}} from Mobile Suit Gundam.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=57}} According to Matthew Magnus Lundeen of Game Rant, the song "Angel Attack", which he likened to the theme of Jaws (1977), is based on the compositions of earlier tokusatsu series such as Ultraman and Kamen Rider.{{cite web|publisher=Game Rant|website=Gamerant.com|url=https://gamerant.com/shiro-sagisu-evangelion/|title=The Man Who Gave Evangelion Its Impact|date=24 September 2022|author=Matthew Magnus Lundeen|access-date=27 February 2023|archive-date=17 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217150923/https://gamerant.com/shiro-sagisu-evangelion/|url-status=live}} The track "Borderline Case", which is used in introspective scenes featuring Shinji, has been noted for its metaphysical tone and its ambient minimalist influence.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|pp=63-64}} According to the official booklet of Refrain of Evangelion, Misato's theme has an unusual tune compared to other music in the series; because Sagisu has composed music for the variety show Waratte iitomo!, "this type of music is also his cup of tea". Academic Heike Hoffer noted music from Evangelion reflects the psychology of the series' characters; according to Hoffer, Misato's theme has a "jazzy, laid-back sound".{{sfn|Hoffer|2021|p=85}}

Bart Howard's song "Fly Me to the Moon" is used as the closing theme of Splitting of the Breast. A version of the song named "Off Vocal TV Size Version" was used for the original broadcast{{cite book|title=Eva Tomo no Kai |volume=6|publisher=Gainax |language=ja |date=1996}} and was later included in the album Neon Genesis Evangelion III.{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://www.e-onkyo.com/music/album/kica300/|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion III 【2013 HR Remaster Ver.】|publisher=E-onkyo Music|access-date=2 November 2021|archive-date=30 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130100640/https://www.e-onkyo.com/music/album/kica300/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/183/products/575144/1/|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion III|publisher=Oricon|access-date=2 November 2021|archive-date=6 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306232526/https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/183/products/575144/1/|url-status=live}} For the 2003 Renewal edition of the series, a new version of the song with a three-voice chorus{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=26 |page=26 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Edition Booklet |volume=4|chapter=Fly Me to the Moon |publisher=ADV}} consisting of Rei, Asuka, and Misato was used.{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://mora.jp/package/43000014/KICA-608/|title=Refrain of Evangelion|publisher=Mora|access-date=2 November 2023|archive-date=13 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313100504/https://mora.jp/package/43000014/KICA-608/|url-status=live}} The Renewal version used for "Splitting of the Breast" is an edited version of a track from the limited edition of the album Neon Genesis Evangelion Addition that is sung by Miyamura, Megumi Hayashibara, and Mitsuishi,{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://mora.jp/package/43000014/KICA-334/|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Addition|publisher=Mora|access-date=2 November 2021|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818043338/https://mora.jp/package/43000014/KICA-334/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://music.apple.com/jp/album/neon-genesis-evangelion-addition-ep/260855584|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Addition|publisher=Apple Music|access-date=2 November 2021}} and is included on the album Refrain of Evangelion.{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/183/products/508322/1/|title=Refrain of Evangelion|publisher=Oricon|access-date=2 November 2021|archive-date=22 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722081156/https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/183/products/508322/1/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|language=ja|url=https://www.billboard-japan.com/goods/detail/178742|title=Refrain of Evangelion|publisher=Billboard|access-date=2 November 2021|archive-date=23 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723123032/https://www.billboard-japan.com/goods/detail/178742|url-status=live}}

{{multiple image

| footer = The Japanese title of the episode is a reference to Søren Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death. "Splitting of the Breast" also references Dirac sea, first proposed by Paul Dirac. Critics compared Evangelion Dirac's sea to Ryu Mitsuse's novel Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights

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"Splitting of the Breast" mentions several fictional, science-like terms in Shinji's stream of consciousness. Among these are "genome theory"{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=8 |page=23|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} and "crystallized genes";{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=47}} according to this theory, which the series writers invented, clay and crystal are the principles of primitive vital activities. The episode also mentions the real term "biohazard".{{cite book|language=ja|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Laserdisc Encyclopedia|volume=8|date=1996}} The "crystallized genes" theory has been linked to the clay cristals hypothesis proposed by Graham Cairns-Smith about the origin of life,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=51}}{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=7 |page=24|publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} while the term "biohazard" to The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton and Blood Music by Greg Bear, whose plots involve scenarios of pathogen beings threatening the existence of the human race.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=130}}

The parallel dimension of imaginary numbers contained within Leliel, called the Dirac sea,{{cite journal |date=1997 |journal=Death & Rebirth Program Book (Special Edition) |language=ja |title=用語集 |publisher=Gainax}}{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=34}} is a reference to a concept physicist Paul Dirac formulated;{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=18|page=24 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{cite book|chapter=Episode Commentaries|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Edition Booklet |volume=4 |publisher=ADV }} according to Dirac, rather than being truly empty, the void is a sea of particles of negative energy. Dirac's research led to the formulation of the concept of antimatter,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|pp=115-116}} which is composed of particles with opposite charges to those of matter; the collision of particles and antiparticles leads to annihilation and theoretically the vacuum. Because Shinji is made up of matter and Leliel is made up of antimatter, their physical interaction creates a vacuum—an enormous, empty space made up of antimatter.{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=55}} The expression within the episode has a different meaning compared to the real-life Dirac sea, and is intended to be understood as a world of energy belonging to another dimension.

Critics noted the Dirac sea and the concept of "imaginary numbers space" depicted in the anime may have been inspired by 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 Japanese writer Ryu Mitsuse rather than the real Dirac sea.{{cite book|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book|volume=5|language=ja|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|pages=62–63}}{{cite book|language=ja|title=Animage|date=September 1997|page=20}} The {{nihongo|Evangelion Glossary|エヴァンゲリオン用語事典 |Evangerion Yougo Jiten}} by Yahata Shoten linked the "imaginary number space" with Stephen Hawking's imaginary time.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=47}} According to an official encyclopedia named Evangelion Chronicle, a space of imaginary numbers is where "protons and antiprotons appear, collide and disappear into the void".{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=6|page=24 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} According to Ritsuko, the Dirac sea could be connected to another universe.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=29|page=20 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} One scene depicts a blackboard on which Ritsuko has written that there are strings inside Leliel;{{sfn|Porori|2010|p=46}} the writing is a reference to string theory,{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=81}} according to which spacetime is made up of ten dimensions.{{cite book |date=2021|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia|chapter=Episode 16: Splitting of the Breast}} Ritsuko on the same board also mentions "redshift," a phenomenon in cosmology whereby due to the Doppler effect the light of galaxies shifts to the red due to the expansion of the universe.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=171}}

Writer Dennis Redmond interpreted Ritsuko's plan to detonate all existing N² bombs to defeat Leliel and recover Eva-01 as the series' last explicit reference to the Cold War;{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=155}} and Leliel's ability to absorb Tokyo-3 skyscrapers as analogous to the deflation of Japan's overpriced real-estate market after the post-1990 collapse of the bubble economy.{{sfn|Redmond|2004|p=156}} He described the sudden release of the Eva-01 as "the shocking birth of a whole new geopolitical subject"; according to him, Eva-01's rebirth signals the arrival of a genuinely East-Asian subjectivity that is "red in export-platform tooth and silicon claw, its eyes glowing with the demonic industrial energies of the Pacific Rim".{{sfn|Redmond|2004|pp=155-156}} Furthermore, in the scene where Shinji travels by bus, an advertisement for a store called Bashar is audible, whose name is a reference from a cosmic entity of the same name discussed in books by alleged spiritual medium and writer Darryl Anka.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=131}}

The episode's Japanese title is a reference to The Sickness Unto Death,{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=10|page=21 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}}{{cite web|url=https://animemiru.jp/articles/48043/|title=【新世紀エヴァンゲリオン】これぞエヴァの代名詞！心に残るタイトル一覧|date=23 May 2020|publisher=Anime Miru|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605204606/https://animemiru.jp/articles/48043/|archive-date=5 June 2023}} the most important work of philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who is considered the father of existentialism. The "sickness unto death" refers to "despair";{{sfn|Poggio|2008|p=51}}{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=70}} in the book's introduction, Kierkegaard says for a Christian, "Even death itself is not 'the sickness unto death'. Not to mention any of the suffering on Earth known as destitution, illness, misery, privations, misfortune, pain, anguish, grief, or regret." Kierkegaard's despair arises from humanity's relationship with itself. According to Yūichirō Oguro, the editor of supplemental materials included in the Japanese edition of the series, the title could refer to Shinji's facing and questioning of himself during the episode.

According to Japanese writer Manabu Tsuribe: "Evangelion grasps the ethical significance of Kierkegaard's thinking correctly".{{Cite web|url=http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tsuribe/anime/critique/evae.html|title=Prison of Self-consciousness: an Essay on Evangelion|last=Tsuribe|first=Manabu|website=www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp|access-date=2019-03-29|archive-date=2017-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721105429/http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tsuribe/anime/critique/evae.html|url-status=dead}} According to Kierkegaard, "sickness unto death" can have three forms: desperately being unaware of having a self, desperately not wanting to be yourself, and desperately wanting to be yourself. Reviewer Giulio Gentile compared Shinji to the first form, Rei to the second, and Asuka to the third.{{cite web|url=https://artesettima.it/2019/06/21/neon-genesis-evangelion-una-storia-di-molti/|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion – Simboli, significati, teologia e psicoanalisi|date=21 June 2019|language=it|first=Giulio|last=Gentile|publisher=Arte Settima}} Anime Everyeye's Cristiano Caliciotti described Shinji as a boy who does not want to be himself and Asuka as a girl who desperately wants to be herself.{{cite web|url=https://anime.everyeye.it/articoli/recensione-neon-genesis-evangelion-you-can-not-advance-10021.html|title=Recensione Neon Genesis Evangelion: You Can (Not) Advance|date=27 August 2009|publisher=Anime EveryEye|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105210138/https://anime.everyeye.it/articoli/recensione-neon-genesis-evangelion-you-can-not-advance-10021.html|archive-date=5 November 2023|language=it}} In an interview, director Anno Hideaki said he had never read the book but had cited it out of pedantry to seem intelligent;{{cite journal|script-title=ja:あんた、バカぁと、言われてみたい。（庵野秀明、宮村優子）|language=ja|date=July 1996|journal=Animage|publisher=Tokuma Shoten}} he had only read the first few pages and quickly lost interest in it so he made assumptions about the rest based on the little he had read.{{cite web|title=Anno Hideaki|url=http://jinken-official.jimdo.com/%E8%AC%9B%E6%BC%94%E9%8C%B2-%E4%BC%9A%E8%A6%8B%E9%8C%B2/%E5%BA%B5%E9%87%8E%E7%A7%80%E6%98%8E/|publisher=Jinken-official.jimdo.com|access-date=September 3, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723061544/http://jinken-official.jimdo.com/%E8%AC%9B%E6%BC%94%E9%8C%B2-%E4%BC%9A%E8%A6%8B%E9%8C%B2/%E5%BA%B5%E9%87%8E%E7%A7%80%E6%98%8E/|archive-date=July 23, 2014}} In another interview before the series aired, Anno expressed his doubts about the future of animation of the time. According to him, Japanese animation was in a phase of desperation and people were trying to hide it by talking about hope; according to Anno: "Hope is essentially just a product of despair, so to talk about hope is to be desperate. And despair has another name, 'the sickness unto death'{{sp}}". Anno described Evangelion itself as "a product of dispair".{{cite book|date=January 1995|title=Newtype|language=ja|page=138|url=https://ia802607.us.archive.org/21/items/nt-1995/1995-01.pdf|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten}}

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According to Thrillist's Emma Stefansky, from the sixteenth episode, Neon Genesis Evangelion starts to become less of a robots-versus-monsters series and more of "an enigmatic character study".{{Cite web |title=The Very, Very, Very Confusing End of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion,' Explained |url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/neon-genesis-evangelion-ending-explained-netflix |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Thrillist |first=Emma |last=Stefansky |date=23 June 2019 }} "Splitting of the Breast" is part of a series of character-focused episodes and it particularly focuses on Shinji's story.{{cite book |language=ja |title=ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序 全記録全集ビジュアルストーリー版・設定 資料版 |publisher=Khara |date=2008 |chapter=庵野 秀明 Interview}} According to Kazuya Tsurumaki, the first part of the episode proceeds like a "normal story", while the second half proceeds as an "introspective story"; therefore, the boundary between the first and the second half of the installment could be considered "the dividing line between the front and back of Evangelion". "Splitting of the Breast" is also the first episode of Evangelion to explicitly address the exploration of the human heart,{{cite book |date=2021 |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia |chapter=History 1993-1999}} a theme that is present throughout the series and becomes dominant in its second half.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Edition Booklet|volume=7 |publisher=ADV |chapter=The Two Endings }}{{cite journal |date=1997 |journal=Death & Rebirth Program Book (Special Edition) |language=ja |title=説明 |publisher=Gainax}}

In the opening scene, Asuka accuses Shinji of being self-deprecating or intropunitive{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=122}} and apologizing for everything as though he was conditioned to do so{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=12 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} to avoid being criticized or scolded. Self-affliction is one of the episode's themes;{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=13 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} it is a mental mechanism with which the subject blames themself for the negative things that happen to them.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=5 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=50}} According to an official card game about the series, Shinji wants to be praised and treated kindly by others; because he is afraid of being hated, he withdraws into his shell and apologizes because "it is less painful to accuse yourself than to let others accuse you".Evangelion Carddass Masters G, card D-67, 気持ち悪い, Bandai.

In the following scenes, Shinji receives compliments from Misato,{{Cite book |author=Gainax |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection |date=1998 |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |language=ja |isbn=4-04-852700-2 |page=81}} and feels a wave of joy and pride after the praise.{{cite book |title=Newtype Complete Shinseiki Evangerion |script-title=ja:Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン |trans-title=Newtype Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |year=2005 |language=ja |page=50}}{{cite magazine|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=April 1996|language=ja|page=14|title=少年は神話になる}} Asuka, who is characterized by a proud psychology and is accustomed to being admired, is furious at Shinji's reaction, which for her represents a defeat.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=5 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=52}} She has complex feelings for Shinji and punches the locker in frustration.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=15 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} During the battle against Leliel, Asuka provokes Shinji, who is unusually courageous and decides to face the enemy alone, saying fighting is "a man's job".{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=14 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} Shinji is defeated and absorbed into Leliel; he responds to Asuka's provocation by saying {{nihongo |otehon misete yaru yo |お手本見せてやるよ | |"I'll show you how it's done"}} using the masculine and haughty directional suffix te yaru. In Japanese language, te yaru indicates one will do something for someone of lower status; using it requires a great deal of self-confidence and it is usually used only by men who have confidence in their superior social positions. After Shinji's defeat, Asuka publicly complains about him, provoking an immediate reaction from Rei Ayanami, who is usually cold{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=5 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |pages=59–60}} and doesn't answer to Asuka's provocations.{{cite book|title=Newtype Complete Shinseiki Evangerion|script-title=ja:Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン|trans-title=Newtype Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|year=2005|language=ja|page=41}}{{cite magazine|title=Stray Children|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|date=March 1996|page=7|url=http://www.acsys.com/~tallman/stray_e.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010211123346/http://www.acsys.com/~tallman/stray_e.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 February 2001}} In the last scene, however, Asuka secretly visits Shinji in the hospital;{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=21 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} seeing Asuka's behavior, Shinji smiles.{{cite book |title=Animedia |date=May 1996 |language=ja |page=20 |publisher=IID}}

File:Splitting of the Breast Eva01.png

According to academic Cristopher Smith, until his clash with Leliel, Shinji managed to become a man and fit into the "hegemonic hetero-masculinity" like a typical robot-anime protagonist. In one scene, for example, Shinji contemplates his hand, clasping his fingers and saying the masculine-language phrase yosh ("all right"). Writers Yokohama Yūji{{cite journal |first= Yūji |last=Yokohama |title=複数の物語と世界--『新世紀エヴァンゲリオン』と『五分後の世界』 |date=2002 |publisher=北海道大学大学院文学研究科 |journal=研究論集 |page=22 |language=ja}} and Yūichirō Oguro{{cite web |url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama45.shtml |title=第45回 エヴァ雑記「第拾弐話 奇跡の価値は」 |first=Yūichirō |last=Oguro |language=ja |publisher=Anime Style}} noted hands are an important motif in Evangelion, often indicating an inflection point; Oguro wrote: "Hands are the tools humans use to communicate with others and the outside world, whether they are loving each other or hurting each other".{{cite web |url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama51.shtml |title=第51回 エヴァ雑記「第拾八話 命の選択を」 |first=Yūichirō |last=Oguro |language=ja |publisher=Anime Style}} Smith noted Shinji is trapped inside an "empty, womblike" void and curls up in a fetal position in a uterine bath of oxygenating liquid inside the Eva. After that, he is passively dependent on women—Misato, Ritsuko, and Yui—to save him.{{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}} According to Oguro, the fact the male protagonist displays masculinity before the battle and is then sucked into the mother's womb symbolizes the series' skepticism about the value of masculinity.{{cite web |url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama52.shtml |title=第52回 エヴァ雑記「第拾九話 男の戰い」 |first=Yūichirō |last=Oguro |language=ja |publisher=Anime Style}} Newspaper Mainichi Shimbun noted a close contact between an Evangelion and an Angel "would have resulted in combat" in a normal anime.{{cite news |first1=Kei |last1=Watanabe |first2=Daichi |last2=Nakagawa |first3=Tsunehiro |last3=Uno |title=Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy |newspaper=Mainichi Times |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-145511765/evangelion-special-phenomenon-legacy.html |date=May 18, 2006 |access-date=September 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927065311/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-145511765/evangelion-special-phenomenon-legacy.html |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |url-status=dead}} According to Newtype magazine, the series follows the path inaugurated by Gundam{{'s}} character Amuro Ray, due to which, male protagonists of mecha anime have gradually become less heroic.{{cite book |title=Newtype Complete Shinseiki Evangerion |script-title=ja:Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン |trans-title=Newtype Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |year=2005 |language=ja |pages=48–49}}{{cite magazine|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=April 1996|language=ja|pages=12-13|title=少年は神話になる}}

{{multiple image

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Inside Leliel, Shinji sees his estranged father Gendo, who praises him; Shinji sees Gendo's praise as a source of spiritual strength, suggesting he fears his father but still wants his approval.{{cite web |url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama53.shtml |title=第53回 エヴァ雑記「第弐拾話 心のかたち 人のかたち」 |first=Yūichirō |last=Oguro |language=ja |publisher=Anime Style}} In a world without the concept of time, Shinji has a vision in which he sees another, younger self.{{cite book|language=ja|title=Evangelion Carddass Masters G: Card D-5|publisher=Bandai}}{{cite book|language=ja|isbn=4-7669-3028-2|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion The Card Game: The Complete Guide|date=1998|publisher=勁文社|page=21}} He discusses himself with his other self sitting in a train cabin at sunset. The other Shinji coldly analyzes like a doctor the weak points of Shinji;{{cite book|language=ja|title=Evangelion Carddass Masters G: Card D-6|publisher=Bandai}} he tells the real Shinji other versions of himself exist in other people minds, and "they are all Ikari Shinji".{{Cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=C. |doi=10.1353/mec.2012.0013 |title=Topologies of Identity in Serial Experiments Lain |journal=Mechademia |volume=7 |pages=198–199 |year=2012 |s2cid=119423011 }} According to researcher Satohi Tsukamoto: "Shinji contemplates that he has two selves within himself: a core self and a self that acknowledges the core self".{{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 |page=39 |access-date=15 November 2023}} Mechademia magazine described the monologue as a dialogue that is "reminiscent of a psychoanalytic therapy session".{{cite journal |journal=Mechademia |volume=9 |title=Evangelion as Second Impact: Forever Changing That Which Never Was |date=2014 |pages=283–293 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |doi=10.5749/mech.9.2014.0283 |last1=Andreu Ballús |last2=Alba g. Torrents}} According to Evangelion Chronicle magazine, the scene's train alludes to life.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=19 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} Yahata Shoten's Evangelion Glossary also noted how Shinji is seen with a red pearl resembling an Angel's core in the same scene.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=53}}

According to the official filmbooks of the series, the two versions of Shinji represent the psychoanalytic concepts of ego and super ego, which Sigmund Freud presented in his work The Ego and the Id.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=5 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=63}}{{cite book |language=ja |page=76 |quote=16 話「死に至る病、そして」において、ディラックの海に呑みこまれたシンジが見る夢のなかには二人の(つまり分裂した)シンジが現れる。この二人のシンジは、アニメ誌やフィルムブックでは自我と超自我であると説明されているが、... |title=エヴァンゲリオン快楽原則 |date=1997 |isbn=480749726X |publisher=第三書館}} The Anime Café likened Shinji's dialogue with himself, in which he says there are many "Shinji Ikari" present in the minds of other people, to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, which discusses the role of the "local observer" in high-speed physics.{{cite web |url=https://abcb.com/trivia/eva_1601.htm |title=Café Trivia |date= |publisher=The Anime Café |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126085551/https://abcb.com/trivia/eva_1601.htm |archive-date=26 January 2022}} According to Japanese writer Minami Ooka, the idea images of oneself exist in the consciousnesses of other people comes from Ryū Murakami's novel {{nihongo |Ai to gensō no fascism |愛と幻想のファシズム | |"The Fascism of Love and Fantasy"}}; in a scene of the novel, Fruit, girlfriend of the protagonist Zero, tells him there are several Zeros.{{cite web |url=https://ookaminami.kakurezato.com/eva-fascism.html |title=「愛と幻想のファシズム」の考察: 村上龍のＳＦ政治経済小説と「エヴァ」の関係 |date=8 January 1998 |website=Ookaminami.kakurezato.com |author=Minami Ooka}} Academic Yuya Sato likened the style of monologue between the two Shinji to girls' manga, also known as shōjo. The words of the monologue are spoken without presupposing the recipient of the message, without any intention of having someone listen to it, just as in shōjo. Within the narrative universe of shōjo manga, no communication occurs between characters, but the reader can still read monologues.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=83}} Furthermore, Japanese architect Kaichiro Morikawa compared the structure of the episode to director Bill Viola's work "Nantes Triptych", which consists of a triptych of three video sequences, of which the middle one shows a body sinking into a bluish liquid and the last one depicting the birth of a baby.{{sfn|Morikawa|1997|p=29}}

"Splitting of the Breast" also presents various motherhood and womb symbolisms. During the episode, Yui's image appears to Shinji,{{sfn |Porori |2010 |p=45}} suggesting a link between Yui and Eva-01. In the final scene, Eva-01 tears the Angel's shadow to pieces, screaming and covered in blood, an image that recalls childbirth and the crying of a child.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=5 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |pages=64–65}}{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=60}} While absorbed inside Leliel, Shinji notices the cabin of Eva-01 smells of blood.{{cite book |title=Evangelion Chronicle |volume=46 |page=18 |publisher=Sony Magazines |language=ja}} Oguro wrote the episode's images and sounds connect the image of the Eva-01 cockpit to a womb, and that female genitalia are visible in the geometric patterns of Leliel's spherical body. Italian writer Bartoli noted the episode's first image represents water, or rather of "female waters". The episode's English title "Splitting of the Breast" refers to psychoanalytical concept studied by Melanie Klein, according to whom in the first years of life, a child divides the perception of the mother's breast in two, separating it into a "good" and a "bad breast" during the first stage of psychosexual development, the oral stage.{{sfn|Glossary|1998|p=82}} According to Oguro, Eva-01 can be interpreted as a "bad breast", while Yui saves Shinji at the end and can be seen as a "good breast". Anno also used the Freudian splitting theory for the final episode, in which Shinji sees both the good and bad sides of other people.{{cite book |chapter=庵野 秀明 - Part I |title=Zankoku na tenshi no you ni |year=1997 |publisher=マガジン・マガジン |isbn=4-906011-25-X}} According to Bartoli, Shinji is always in a state of dissociation and "splitting" because he wants to accept only pleasant things while fleeing from unpleasant ones.{{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=34 |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}} The title can also be understood as a reference to the "torn chest" and the conflict that takes place in Shinji's heart.{{cite book |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book |volume=5 |language=ja |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |page=61}}

For Yūichirō Oguro, Shinji is not a boy who particularly likes anime or videogames but his desire to turn away from unpleasant things and only do fun things is "otaku-like"; according to him, Leliel's words to Shinji, who run away from problems—"You can not collect pleasant things like a rosary"—are "sure to be painful for fans of Evangelion to hear". Oguro also stated: "these questions about people who indulge in their own pleasures led director Anno to criticize otaku after the first airing of the show". In 1996, Anno said he was disappointed with the reception of the original series, which had become a place of refuge in which to escape from "unpleasant things". According to Kazuya Tsurumaki, the phrase reflects Anno's direct style; because most people do not really pay attention to the dialogue in an anime, Anno began to incorporate more blunt expressions; Tsurumaki said: "expressions which were more introspective or emotionally expressive became more frequent". He also said he worked on the series with the idea Shinji's feelings are a reflection of those of Anno, who is also an otaku. Tsurumaki described Evangelion as a "story about communication" that is aimed at otaku, and that the show "is a message aimed at anime fans including [Anno] himself, and of course, me too. In other words, it's useless for non-anime fans to watch it. If a person who can already live and communicate normally watches it, they won't learn anything".

"Splitting of the Breast" was first broadcast on January 17, 1996, and drew a 9.4% audience share on Japanese television.{{cite magazine |magazine=Newtype |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |date=April 1996 |page=74 |language=ja |title=Anime Land}} In 1996, it ranked sixteenth among the best anime episodes of the Anime Grand Prix, a large annual poll made by Animage.{{cite web |url=http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1997.html |title=第19回アニメグランプリ［1997年6月号］ |publisher=Tokuma Shoten |archive-date=19 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019174636/http://animage.jp/old/gp/gp_1997.html}} In July 2020, Comic Book Resources reported an 8.8/10 rating for the installment on IMDb, making it third among the highest-rated Evangelion episodes.{{cite web |last=Fois |first=Daniello |date=21 July 2020 |title=Top 10 Episodes Of Neon Genesis Evangelion, According To IMDb |url=https://www.cbr.com/top-episodes-neon-genesis-evangelion-according-imdb/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324040412/https://www.cbr.com/top-episodes-neon-genesis-evangelion-according-imdb/ |archive-date=24 March 2021 |access-date=29 May 2021 |website=Cbr.com |publisher=Comic Book Resources}} Merchandise based on the episode, including a line of official tee-shirts,{{sfn |Porori |2010 |p=125}}{{cite web |url=https://www.evastore.jp/shop/g/gA7001701/ |title=新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 全話Tシャツ 「第拾六話 死に至る病、そして」 |language=ja |publisher=Evangelion Store |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126131229/https://www.evastore.jp/shop/g/gA7001701/ |archive-date=26 November 2023}} 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=112 |language=ja |date=1997 |isbn=4-04-852868-8}}

The episode received a positive reception from anime critics. According to GameFan magazine, "Splitting of the Breast" is widely considered to be one of the best episodes of the anime.{{cite journal |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Genesis 0:8 |date=October 1997 |volume=5 |issue=10 |page=141 |publisher=Metropolis Media |journal=GameFan |url=https://archive.org/details/GameFan9700/GameFan%20Vol.%205%20-%2010%20%28Oct%201997%29%20Tomb%20Raider%20II/page/n145/mode/2up |access-date=15 November 2023}} The Anime Café's Akio Nagatomi positively received the episode, praising the "fitting" symbolism behind Shinji's emergence from Leliel, describing Shinji's voyage of self-discovery as "brilliant" and the symbolic use of the sound of a road passing underneath with obstacles during the scene as "striking". Nagatomi also noted Shinji is drawn a little differently toward the end of his mental journey, a detail he described as "the most deft touch" of the installment.{{cite web |url=https://www.abcb.com/eva/eva_t016.htm |title=Shinseiki Evangelion Review - Episode 16: Sickness, Unto Death, And... / Splitting of the Breast |publisher=The Anime Café |access-date=23 July 2022}} DVD Talk plauded "Splitting of the Breast", the previous and the following installment 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}} Film School Rejects' Max Covill praised the violence and "terrific animation" presented in the installment, describing it as an "excellent episode";{{cite web |access-date=16 May 2021 |publisher=Film School Rejects |website=Filmschoolrejects.com |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/4/ |title=Every Episode of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' Ranked |date=17 June 2019 |first=Max |last=Covill |archive-date=8 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108222022/https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/4/ |url-status=live}} he also praised the image of Yui's soul inside Eva-01 for its "ethereal quality".{{cite web |access-date=16 May 2021 |publisher=Film School Rejects |website=Filmschoolrejects.com |url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-perfect-shots/4/ |title=The Perfect Shots of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' |date=19 June 2019 |first=Max |last=Covill}} SyFy Wire's Daniel Dockery described Unit 01's exit from Leliel as an "iconic" moment.{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=Dockery |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-10-most-awesome-moments-in-neon-genesis-evangelion |title=The 10 most awesome (non-depressing) moments In Neon Genesis Evangelion |date=June 23, 2019 |access-date=July 23, 2020 |website=Syfy.com |archive-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108222111/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-10-most-awesome-moments-in-neon-genesis-evangelion |url-status=dead }} Comic Book Resources' Akjay Aravind listed Leliel's battle among the best Neon Genesis Evangelion fights.{{cite web |access-date=16 May 2021 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |website=Cbr.com |url=https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-best-fights-ranked/ |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: 10 Best Fights In The Anime, Ranked |date=28 December 2020 |first=Ajay |last=Aravind |archive-date=29 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129203328/https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-best-fights-ranked/ |url-status=live}}

Comic Book Resources' listed Shinji's absorption inside Leliel as one of the ten times "Neon Genesis Evangelion was too disturbing for its own good".{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-disturbing-dark-controversial/ |title=10 Times Neon Genesis Evangelion Was Too Disturbing For Its Own Good |date=22 April 2021 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213223605/https://www.cbr.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-disturbing-dark-controversial/ |archive-date=13 December 2021}} Another Comic Book Resources editor, Eduardo Luquin, criticized Shinji's initial overconfidence before Leliel's battle.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-shinji-sympathetic-not/ |title=Evangelion: 5 Times We Sympathized With Shinji (& 5 When We Didn't) |date=18 November 2019 |access-date=26 November 2023 |publisher=Comic Book Resources}} Other reviewers were more appreciative. Digitally Obsessed's Joel Cunningham called the race to save Shinji "very interesting" and said this element of the episode is "nicely offset with Shinji's introspective moments".{{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 "Splitting of the Breast" and the other episodes of the arc, and actor Spike Spencer's "top-rate work" as Shinji in the English dub;{{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}} his colleague James Beckett similarly lauded it, saying: "I was shown how a series could confront and dismantle its audience's expectations in a way that was exhilarating to watch".{{cite web |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2021-08-15/growing-up-with-evangelion/.176258 |title=Growing Up With Evangelion |date=15 August 2021 |publisher=Anime News Network |first=James |last=Beckett |access-date=26 November 2021}} Fangoria wrote: "There's something especially horrifying about an Angel that weaponizes quantum physics".{{cite web |url=https://www.fangoria.com/original/10-terrifying-moments-in-neon-genesis-evangelion/ |title=10 Terrifying Moments In NEON GENESIS EVANGELION |date=4 October 2023 |publisher=Fangoria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025103138/https://www.fangoria.com/original/10-terrifying-moments-in-neon-genesis-evangelion/ |archive-date=25 October 2023}} Looper praised Leliel's design as one of the "coolest" in the series and "awesome".{{cite web |access-date=7 November 2021 |url=https://www.looper.com/487002/the-most-powerful-angels-from-neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/ |title=The Most Powerful Angels From Neon Genesis Evangelion Ranked |date=13 August 2021 |publisher=Looper |first=Thompson |last=Smith |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108050745/https://www.looper.com/487002/the-most-powerful-angels-from-neon-genesis-evangelion-ranked/ |url-status=live}}

According to Comic Book Resources, the opening official video of the anime series Chainsaw Man contains a reference to the scene in which Unit 01 escapes from Leliel.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-fan-shows-similarities-chainsaw-man-cinematics/ |title=Evangelion Fan Shows Similarities to Chainsaw Man's Cinematics |date=7 February 2023 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302051307/https://www.cbr.com/evangelion-fan-shows-similarities-chainsaw-man-cinematics/ |archive-date=2 March 2023 |first=Leo |last=Reyna}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{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| 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|date=2021|publisher=Stockholm University Press|title=Anime Studies: Media-Specific Approaches to Neon Genesis Evangelion|isbn=978-91-7635-164-2|url=https://www.stockholmuniversitypress.se/site/books/e/10.16993/bbp/|chapter=Beethoven, the Ninth Symphony and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Using Pre-existing Music in Anime|first=Heike|last=Hoffer|editor-first1=José Andrés |editor-first2=Ana |editor-last1=Santiago Iglesias |editor-last2=Soler Baena |doi=10.16993/bbp |s2cid=245093477 }}
• {{cite book | date = 1997 | first = Kaichiro| last= Morikawa | title=The Evangelion Style|publisher=Daisan Shokan|language=ja|isbn=4-8074-9718-9}}
• {{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 book|first=Alessandra|last=Poggio|language=it|year=2008|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Encyclopedia|publisher=Dynit}}

• {{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 |first= Syunsou |last= Porori|title=The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side B|language=fr |publisher=Glénat |date=2010|isbn=978-2-7234-7121-3}}
• {{cite book |first=Kentaro |last=Takekuma |title=Anno Hideaki Parano Evangerion|language=ja |year=1997 |publisher=Ōta Shuppan |isbn=4-87233-316-0}}

{{refend}}

• {{IMDb episode|0781954}}

{{Neon Genesis Evangelion}}

Category:1996 Japanese television episodes

Category:Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes

Category:Science fiction television episodes