geometric abstract shape, because the staff did not have enough resources for an anthropomorphic enemy. Moreover, according to series assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki, "everything after the storyboard was ordered by another company", and Gainax had no control over it. In "Rei II", captions were used to create a documentary feel, a technique Anno previously used in Gunbuster. The installment also depicts real existing places during the preparations for Operation Yashima, such as Mount Futago, Ube and Minato, the birthplace of Anno and the headquarters of Gainax, respectively. A map of Japan is framed during the operation, drawn with differences from actuality. Since Second Impact raised the sea level in the Evangelion universe, the smaller islands are difficult to trace on the map, while the main islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu have different shapes. Megumi Hayashibara, Rei's voice actress, performed the voice of an anonymous woman making time announcements during the process; Tetsuya Iwanaga and Tomokazu Seki voiced as Nerv operators, while Yuko Miyamura voiced a female announcer. A version of Fly Me to the Moon sung by Hayashibara was also used for the ending theme of the episode. Cultural references According to Yūichirō Oguro, an editor of some Japanese home video editions of Evangelion, the Japanese title "Showdown in Tokyo-3" is a possible reference to the sixth episode of Return of Ultraman, "Showdown! Monsters vs. MAT". Like "Rei II", "Showdown! Monsters vs. MAT" contains a large-scale operation. Oguro noted that ticker tape is also used during the episode, similarly to Anno's previous works Gunbuster and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. He compared the use of ticker tape to the works by director Kihachi Okamoto. Critics also speculated that Ramiel's design was influenced by Mirai Keisatsu Urashiman and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The name of Operation Yashima originates from the Battle of Yashima, fought in 1185, during the Genpei War. According to a legend, the samurai warrior Nasu no Yoichi riding his horse shot an arrow through the water and hit the red fan of his enemy Tamamushi, resolving the battle in favor of the Minamoto clan. In Neon Genesis Evangelion Ramiel is similarly centered and beaten by a precise shot fired from a position located across the waters of Lake Ashi, Mount Futago. A different spelling of the term can be translated as "eight countries", an ancient epithet of Japan, a reference to the Positron Rifle's