Warning: Contains spoilers for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX episode #3.Neon Genesis Evangelion fame. It’s an unprecedented crossover between two legendary studios that features some of the biggest talents in the anime industry, and with Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno even involved in the production, it’s been getting plenty of well-deserved hype from the moment it was announced.

Studio Khara making a Gundam anime has been nothing but great, and as shown in GQuuuuuuX episode #3, the overlap is far from skin deep. Episode #3 was the formal introduction of Shuji Ito, the last of the show’s main characters, and while there’s only a single episode to go off of, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX appears to be reworking one of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s most wasted characters with how Shuji Ito has been written. Whether that’s intentional is unclear at this point, but it works very well, and there’s no telling what else can be done with it.

How Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Remakes One Of Evangelion's Best Characters

Why GQuuuuuuX's New Character Is Gundam's New Kaworu

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX episode #3 was the formal introduction of Shuji Ito, and he left a very strong impression. Shuji is immediately established to be a weird person by sniffing Machu’s hair the second they meet, and for the rest of the episode, he’s consistently written as a spacey and all-around eccentric person. Not only that, but Shuji is a Newtype and a Gundam pilot who talks to his Gundam, with it being left ambiguous if there’s something for him to talk to, and amidst it all, Machu finds herself strangely drawn to Shuji from the moment they meet.

All of that, of course, gives Shuji a clear overlap with Kaworu Nagisa, one of the major characters of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Both characters are eccentric figures with supernatural powers, intimate relationships with the protagonists, and ties to the overarching plot, and with Hideaki Anno, himself involved with the writing and overall production, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX’s Shuji can be seen as a deliberate pastiche or remake of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Kaworu. Kaworu’s characterization and his relationship with Shinji always made him a great character, so it’s highly appropriate to see Anno repurpose him for a show like GQuuuuuuX.

How Neon Genesis Evangelion Wasted One Of Its Best Characters For Decades

Neon Genesis Evangelion Never Did Right By Kaworu

Despite being one of Evangelion’s most prominent and important characters, Kaworu only showed up for a single episode in the original anime and only had a major role in the third film of the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy; among the various spinoffs, the one that probably gives Kaworu the most to do would be the manga adaptation, where Kaworu shows up earlier than in the anime and has a more fleshed-out arc with Shinji because of it. Kaworu, despite his popularity and importance, is easily the most wasted character of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s principal cast, and that’s hard to deny.

Kaworu’s lack of screentime is a big part of why it’s great that Shuji is the way he is. With Shuji being introduced at the start of the story, he’s bound to get a lot of screentime and development, unlike what Kaworu typically gets, so Shuji Ito being so much like Kaworu can be seen as Hideaki Anno using Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX to give Kaworu the justice his character has deserved for 30 years. How well that will play out remains to be seen, but hopefully, it will be exactly what Kaworu’s fans have been waiting for.

GQuuuuuuX's Latest Episode Makes The Evangelion Influence Undeniable

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Really Is An Evangelion-Style Gundam Show

With Shuji drawing such clear parallels with Kaworu, the Evangelion influence on GQuuuuuuX is now impossible to deny. Not only is the design of the GQuuuuuuX reminiscent of Evangelion, but the story essentially being a reboot of the Universal Century timeline draws a clear parallel to Rebuild of Evangelion, and episode #2 even uses Rebuild’s gimmick of replaying old music for dramatic effect. Fans have joked about it since day one, and as of episode #3, Shuji being a direct parallel is the final proof needed of Neon Genesis Evangelion’s influence on Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX’s writing and overall presentation.

Anyone even remotely familiar with Evangelion will have some idea of why its writing and direction have made it one of the most influential anime of all time, so if even a fraction of that energy has found its way into GQuuuuuuX, then Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX having Neon Genesis Evangelion influencing its story could work to make it one of the best Gundam anime of all time. The fusion of Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion’s teams continues to be a revolutionary idea, and hopefully, Shuji taking so much from Kaworu won’t be the last example of why.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX releases new episodes Tuesdays on Amazon Prime.