Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses

is the fifteenth episode of the Japanese anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, which was created by Gainax. The episode, written by Hideaki Anno and Akio Satsukawa, and directed by Naoyasu Habu, was first broadcast on TV Tokyo on January 10, 1996. The series is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm known as Second Impact and is mostly set in the futuristic, fortified city of Tokyo-3. The series' protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the special military organization Nerv to pilot a gigantic, bio-mechanical mecha named Evangelion into combat with beings called Angels. In the course of the episode, agent Ryoji Kaji conducts investigations about an institute called Marduk and gathers together with his Nerv colleagues Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi for a party. After the party, Misato, Ryoji's ex-girlfriend, confesses to the man the real reason why she left him years before. Meanwhile, Shinji meets his father to visit the grave of his mother, Yui, and kisses fellow pilot Asuka Soryu Langley.

According to screenwriter Satsukawa, "Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses" is the Neon Genesis Evangelion episode in which his personality is most reflected. During the installment, entirely focused on the relationships of the characters and devoid of action scenes, use is made of religious symbolism and music outside the original soundtrack of the series, including Johann Sebastian Bach's "Suite for Cello Solo No.1 in G Major".

"Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses" drew a 6% audience share on Japanese television and received mixed reception from critics. Some reviewers criticized the script, the interpretation of Kotono Mitsuishi, Misato's voice actress, the music and Asuka's behavior. Other reviewers appreciated the kiss between Shinji and Asuka and the one between Misato and Kaji, praising the religious symbolism and the focus on the relationships between the protagonists.

Plot

The commander and deputy commander of the paramilitary agency Nerv, Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki, discuss about their projects and Ryoji Kaji, a secret agent engaged in investigations in Kyoto on an institute called Marduk. Meanwhile, Shinji Ikari, pilot at Nerv, asks his colleague Rei Ayanami what kind of person his father Gendo is and tells her that he reminds him of her dead mother, Yui. Misato Katsuragi, head of the strategic department of Nerv and legal guardian of Shinji and Asuka Soryu Langley, heads to a wedding party with her friend Ritsuko Akagi and Kaji, her ex-boyfriend.

Shinji visits his mother's grave with his father, then returns home to play the cello. Asuka, who left shortly before for a date, also returns home. Bored, Asuka proposes to Shinji kissing her, and the two exchange a kiss. Meanwhile, a drunk Misato is escorted home by Kaji; along the way she reveals to Kaji the real reason why she broke up with him years before by bursting into tears, and Kaji kisses her. The next day Misato discovers Kaji secretly entering the deepest section of the Nerv headquarters; Kaji then shows her a crucified giant, which he identifies as Adam, the first Angel.

Production

In 1993, Gainax published a presentation document for Neon Genesis Evangelion entitled , containing the initial synopsis for the planned episodes. For the first twelve episodes aired, the company roughly followed the schedule envisioned by the first draft, with only a few minor script differences. From the thirteenth episode onward, however, the production deviated from the original plan of the writers and from what was initially envisioned in the submission document. According to Michael House, translator at the time for Gainax, Neon Genesis Evangelion main director Hideaki Anno in the making initially intended to give the story a happy ending, but during production he realized that he had created characters that were too problematic, so he changed his plans. According to Hiroki Azuma, a culture critic who personally interviewed the director, Anno during the airing of the series began to criticize obsessive anime fans, know as otaku in Japanese, whom he considered too closed-minded and introverted, so he changed his original plans by creating a more dramatic and introspective story toward the middle of the series.