>>2072248>In 'The Happy Prince' the Prince is not real, but made artificially from goldHe's a statue of gold living near the castle/municipal building of the city, but he's every bit as real as you see him be.
That's also the same connection I read it as being, but there was more to the story how they died and how it worked.
The statue (like Rei) is confined to a certain place, and can't do anything - until a swallow appears. The swallow helps her out. In the end when the Happy Prince dies, it's because her heart breaks as the swallow dies, having kissed him on the lips.
Then their remains are brought to heaven together as the two most precious things.
I'd like to think the Swallow is Shinji, since he's the only one helping Rei out like that. It also makes sense since both of their souls ascended together for a moment, but 3.0 shakes things up since well, none of them got out or went to heaven really.
I think, they could make good on that with 4.0, by introducing Rei as the statue in EVA01, and possibly (the one who shall not be named) as the Swallow.
But I feel like they dropped that, like they dropped Rei in 3.0.
