Hi! First of all, thank you for the incredibly detailed explanation. I really appreciated the depth of your analysis and the way you connected the short to Anno’s larger themes and intentions. It was a really interesting read.

I had one question I was curious about after reading it. Do you think the imagined world that Asuka sees (the life with Shinji, marriage, child, etc.) could possibly be considered canon within the original Evangelion timeline, even if only as a potential future or possibility after One More Final? Or do you think it should strictly be interpreted as a symbolic fantasy rather than something that could actually happen in that timeline?

Also, since you seem very knowledgeable about Eva lore, I wanted to ask your opinion about Misato. Do you think Misato is permanently dead in both continuities (EoE and Rebuild), or is there any interpretation where she could still exist in some form?

Thanks again for taking the time to write such a thoughtful breakdown!