The Recyclopedia
What the portmanteau says, kids. This page will, for the sheer hell of it, keep track of recycling in NGE, with an emphasis on the visual sort. (Hey, you have to admit -- looking for this stuff is a damn fun game to play. ^_^) As a general rule, repetitions within a single scene will not qualify something for inclusion here.
Like most else, this is an ongoing work that will be updated as FGC's online repositorium of thumbnails expands. Maintenance will be fairly loose in these early stages, although if you see something in the currently online CPs (including prelims) that is missing, let me know. (I also welcome lists, partial or otherwise, of sightings in the material not yet covered, which I can put on file for later. Contact me if you're interested.) Some thumbnails are only present now because I know they'll be here later. ::p
Part 1: Visual Motifs & Parallelism, or, "You Never See Anything Just Once"
This type of recycling involves visual "echoing", as opposed to the reutilization of preexisting artwork (by and large, anyway). Oftentimes there is nothing particularly "deep" to an instance of parallelism. Other times, such visual motifs are a subtle part of the storytelling -- and, the further we get into the series, the more critical following them becomes for understanding many of NGE's "finer points".
Oh, yes -- need I mention again, Shin-seiki is the one who really opened our eyes to this aspect of the show: not the recycling in and of itself, but its significance to the story. Kakko ii yatsu da na! *
The Beaker
| 05/C-209 | 14/C- 009 |
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EVA-01: The Form of the Beast
| OP/C-027 | 02/C- 311 |
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EVA-01: Rotating Jump
| OP/C-064 | 02/C-262 |
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EVA-01: "Say hello to my BOOMSTICK!"
| 03/C-005 + 010 | 03/C-189 + 195 |
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EVA-01: "Talk to the hand..."
| 02/C-032~034 | 23/C-231~233 |
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The Hand
| 01/C-290 | 14/C- 010 |
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The Ikari Twins
See also here.
| 02/C-032~034 | 23/C-231~233 |
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Inner Universe
Referring to the "star field" here. Inner universe because it has associations with "traveling" into the core of the Eva, whereupon the pilot makes contact with her soul (see #14 and #20).
| 01/C-290 | 14/C- 010 |
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Misato Miscellany
It's not out-and-out recycling, but these shots rather evoke one another, no?
| 01/C-335, 03/C-171 | 02/C-188 |
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| 02/C-220 | 03/C-276 |
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The Moon
| ED | 14/C-014 | 25/C-164 |
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"Oh My God, She's After His Cranium!"
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"Peek-a-boo"
| OP/C-080 | 01/C-279 |
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Rei: Bookends
| 01/C-258 | 02/C-036~7 |
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Rei: The Leer
| 23/C-137 | 25/C-141 |
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Rei on Wheels
| 01/C-258 | 02/C-036~7 |
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Shinji: "You lookin' at me?"
| 01/C-258 | 02/C-036~7 |
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The Sun
| 02/C-052 | 14/C-005 |
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The Unfamiliar Ceiling
 02/C-006 |
 02/C-157 |
 02/C-177 |
Part 2: Eternal Recurrence
Recycling is a very big part of producing a budget anime like NGE. In order to conserve what little funding exists for animating the highlight sequences of each episode, preexisting cels and backgrounds that remain useful must be reused whenever possible (as the default policy). NGE thus has much in the way of "stock artwork". Sometimes it is tastefully utilized -- no more objectionable than the repetition that occurs with a BGM being used a second or third time -- but, othertimes, it has the fans screaming, "GAINAX, YOU CHEAPASS PIECE OF CRAP!"
A. One-Shots
Certain images that crop up again... and again... and again. (Well... at least twice.) These tend to be plot-related, so their reiterations could be pardoned as being more "deliberate".
 "I want me mum!" |
OP/C-066, 01/C-151, 01/C-252 |
 Human Instrumentality Project |
OP/C-047, 02/C-026 |
B. Familiar Scenery
Still contemplating the organization for this section. Stay tuned.
Misato's Apartment: Exteriors
The Telephone Pole
C. "Because We're Cheap"
Classmates
Kensuke & Toji |
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| 05/C-117 + 120 |      |
| 14/C-021 |     |
The Command Room: Recycler's Utopia
This entry will go on for a while. Were you expecting any less? ^_^
Command Room Shots |
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THE PANNING SHOT |
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| OP/C-041 |  |
| 01/C-059 |   |
| 03/C-141 |   |
THE ANTERIOR SHOT |
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| 01/C-032, 03/C-128 |  |
(VARIATIONS) |
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| 01/C-092 |  |
Command Center |
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BIRD'S-EYE SHOT |
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| 02/C-258A |  |
| 03/C-298 |  |
REAR-VIEW SHOT |
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| 02/C-309 |  |
| 03/C-130 |  |
PROFILE SHOT |
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| 02/C-272 |  |
| 02/C-310 |  |
PROFILE SHOT (MISATO "DRAMA" VARIATIONS) |
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| 02/C-304 | 
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| 03/C-194 |    |
Gendo & Fuyutsuki |
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PROFILE |
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| 01/C-333 |  |
| 02/C-267 |  |
Maya |
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DEFAULT |
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| 02/C-223A |  |
| 03/C-306 | 
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CHAIR SPIN |
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| 02/C-254 |   |
Misato |
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"LAUNCH!" |
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| 01/C-335, 03/C-171 |   |
Misato & Hyuga |
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| 02/C-249 |  |
Ritsuko & Maya |
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PROFILE |
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| 01/C-304 |  
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| 02/C-192A |  |
FRONT (BARS) |
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| 01/C-315 |   
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| 03/C-272 |   |
Entry Plug
Insertion |
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| OP/C-005, 01/C-299, 03/C-159 |
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Internal Timer |
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COUNTING DOWN... |
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| OP/C-007, 03/C-004, C-218 |       |
GETTING CRITICAL... |
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| 03/C-287 |   |
EVA-00
Look up! |
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| OP/C-051 | 
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| 05/C-004 + C-012 | 
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EVA-01
Bang-Bang! |
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| OP/C-062 |   |
| 03/C-015 |  
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Blast Off! |
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| 01/C-336, 03/C-172 |     |
| 01/C-337, 03/C-173 |    |
| 01/C-340, 03/C-174 |  |
Cage (Face, Front UP #1) |
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| OP/C-020 |  |
| 14/C-013 |  |
Cage (Face, Front UP #2) |
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| 01/C-196 |  |
| 04/C-239 |   |
Cage (Side) |
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| 01/C-193 |
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| 04/C-008B |
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Chomp! |
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| OP/C-018 |    |
| 02/C- 257 |    |
Eye UP |
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| 02/C-332 + 334 |   |
| 02/C- 257 |  |
Insertion (Part 1) |
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| 01/C-298 |
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Insertion (Part 2) |
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| 01/C-300, 03/C-160 |
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Looking Skyward |
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| OP/C-025 |
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| 02/C-266 |
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True Face |
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| OP/C-073 |  |
| 02/C-330 |  |
| 14/C-027 |  |
Umbilical Cable Concentric Outlet |
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| 01/C-308 |  |
| 03/C-003 |  |
Gendo
"I look down upon thee!" |
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| OP/C-065 |  |
| 01/C-202, C-220 |
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That impish smirk |
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| OP/C-050 |  |
| 01/C-334 |   |
Gendo's Glasses
| 05/C-193 |   |
| 14/C-025 |
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| 25/C-165 |  |
Geofront & Nerv HQ
Light from above |
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| 01/C-168 |  |
| 04/C-160 |
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Nerv Headquarters (PAN) |
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| OP/C-035 |
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| 01/C-169A |   |
1st Cranial Nerve Department |
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| 02/C-058, 23/C-230 |  |
Graphs
Synch In |
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| 01/C-312 |
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Synch Out |
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| 02/C-246, 03/C-271 |
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Keel & Seele
| OP/C-046 |  |
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| 02/C-029 |
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Rei
Ritsuko
See also: Command Room
Front UP |
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| 05/C-096 |  |
| 14/C-020 |
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"Scenery. That which you've seen before."
Field |
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| 04/C-082 |  |
| 14/C-003 |  |
Lake |
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| 04/C-086 |  |
| 14/C-006 |  |
Mountain |
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| 04/C-084 |    |
| 14/C-001 |   |
Rural Scenery |
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| 04/C-081 |  |
| 14/C-002 |  |
Sky, Blue |
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| 04/C-081 |  |
| 14/C-002 |   |
Sky, Red |
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| 04/C-065 |   |
| 14/C-008A |   |
Sunflowers |
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| 04/C-088 |  |
| 14/C-007 |  |
Shinji
Entry Plug Interior |
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HEAD (PAN-DOWN) |
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| 03/C-001 |  |
| 03/C-170 |    |
HAND LEVER (RIGHT) |
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| 03/C-009 |   |
| 03/C-204 |  |
Eye Closeups |
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#1 |
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| 02/C-325 + 327 + 331 |   |
"ACID TRIP VERSION" |
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| 02/C-333 |  |
| 14/C-029 |  |
HAND LEVER (RIGHT) |
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| 03/C-009 | |
| 03/C-204 | |
Tokyo-3
| OP/C-033 |  |
| 02/C-098 |  |
* Okay, normally I supîku Engurisshu, but the sentiment sounded weird in my native language. Don't you ever have moments when you find yourself "thinking" in another language? ^_^ Since this is an NGE site, it's okay to occasionally "think" in Japanese ... or German, even! "Baumkuchen! Obsttorte!"