also, the perceived "father-son rivalry" between gendo and shinji in evangelion fandom is parodied here, as both men decided to "compete" to see who could pedal the fastest. the contest was actually a way to generate electricity for nerv hq, which had been hit by a blackout. the incident also pays homage to the original anime, where gendo helps in the manual launching of the evas against the invading angel. both fuyutsuki and rei were shown to put in their share of work before dropping out due to fatigue.