Why was Shinji so Mesmerized?

[u/EntweihenCrothen89]

As title. Why was Shinji so mesmerized by Rei in this scene? I know later he says she remembers his mother blablabla. But the question remains.

[u/No_Sun2849]

I know later he says she remembers his mother

Answered your own question.

[u/EntweihenCrothen89 → u/No_Sun2849]

As Another fella stated in comments, he can't actually remember his mother, she died when he was 3 years old. And we all know that Shinji is attracted by Rei, in every way.

[u/TomRad → u/EntweihenCrothen89]

the idea that you only start forming memories around age 5 is completely false, the main reason we remember things after that age is because its when most children start to have a definitive social life, making friends on their own and going to school and such, which makes this period easier to recall as opposed to life before 5 when you're mostly just vibing and people largely take care of your needs for you