You're right, they should have been working on group tactics as often as possible, and constant close cooperation with the JSSDF conventional assets. Even if they can't hurt an Angel, they can distract it and keep its attention away from the Eva's getting a killing strike ready or something.
Ever read In Tune?
So I actually just watched that scene for the first time, and is it weird to say that I was unimpressed? Yes, Gendo is an idiot, but Asuka goes down instantly? Rei, who admittedly isn't the close range combatant Asuka or Shinji is, ALSO goes down with virtually zero effort? I'm not talking about after her arm is blown off (Yeah, don't sever the nerve connection first, you fucking tool), I'm talking about when Bardiel pins her like she's trying to grapple someone twice her size. Bardiel's moving at a(n Eva-sized) snail's pace, how did it get the jump on them? Specifically, when Asuka is about to tell Shinji the pilot is Touji.
I always thought that Asuka going down immediately was due to being really distracted with worrying about telling Shinji, and a non-zero amount of care about Toji, so she got sucker punched.
But yeah, Eva tactics... Anno is nothing if not themes before everything.
Edit: Eva, a series where everything goes to increasingly depressing shit and people experience being maimed horribly physically and emotionally sometimes before horrific deaths, but would be only be lightly injured in a decent chunk of fights with proper emotional support and healthy communication to keep them on task and working in sync; but that's the point of the whole thing, so, it is what it is.
I mean, more bombardment to get an idea of enemy abilities would have helped too, but certain angels still were kind of just OCPs designed thematically around the main ideas with no consistency to their abilities, so good teamwork could still flounder against Leliel or Armisael.
Themes and message first though, so, military logic took a far back seat. Still, I do so wish the sync training had more lasting consequences for their behavior. I guess you really couldn't have them keep at that training on a regular basis and keep it a cautionary tale about the damage of poor communication in relationships, because they'd probably even have wrecked Zeruel without too much issue after continuing to communicate to an increasing degree, but do something more with it at least Anno!
*shrugs* I guess sync training was showing how powerful a relationship can be before it showed its decline as they got increasingly distant after the failed kiss? That's probably why Matariel was made to be such a scrub taken out with team work, trust, and compromise; since they were at a relationship and general happiness high point around that time.
Eva is flawed in a number of ways, but very interesting regardless. That's probably why we have so much fanfiction, and so much official basically fanfiction. It's a thematic and character goldmine in a way.
Even Rebuild seems like more a weird maybe sequel/AU thing exploring the opposite side of how one can fail to communicate and invite disaster by doing so than a remake. 3.33 was
not subtle about the themes, which I think it suffered for; well, I actually withhold judgement until 4.0, 1.0+3.0, or whatever they say they're going to call it after they get to work on it hopefully after Shin Godzilla.
On an unrelated note in regards to Shin Godzilla, I so so cannot wait to hear Shiro Sagisu's take on the classic Godzilla theme music! Plus what Anno does with some themes that seem sort of diametrically opposed to those of Eva.
