ritsumaya

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

If Kaworu loves Shinji so much, why does he allow himself to die even though that would do more harm for Shinji than good?

For a variety of reasons. Once again, let’s take a look at both the canonical and the thematic reasons for Kaworu dying.

Canonical. One thing that you have to recall is that Kaworu’s life doesn’t actually revolve around Shinji. And people who love other people can be suicidal. [nervous laughter] Indeed, Kaworu has had issues over the course of the past fifteen years (much like Shinji); unfortunately, Kaworu keeps all issues and problems inside instead of showing them to … anyone.

Did you know that in the original draft of episode twenty-four, Kaworu wore long sleeves? At one point, a sleeve came up, and Shinji was able to see scars on the inside of Kaworu’s wrist. Kaworu said nothing and Shinji said nothing. Yet the point was there: Kaworu had far, far more going on inside than Shinji realised. Because, y’know, Hedgehog’s Dilemma and all of that.

Shinji saw exactly what he wanted to see: the perfect love interest to swoop him and validate him. Shinji neglected the child, just as broken and wounded as he was, who kept a kind, docile smile because that’s the only way they knew how to cope.

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[ritsumaya2]

Y’know, even when Unit 01 and Unit 02 are fighting and Kaworu nearly gets prog knife’d in the face, Kaworu’s still smiling that welcome-home smile. It’s only when Kaworu descends into Terminal Dogma where no one’s watching that the melancholy frown appears.

As Misato points out, Kaworu wanted to die. You can love someone with all of your existence and still want to die. And if you can trick yourself into believing that your death will be better for that someone? Oh, boy. You’­­ve gone itmade.

I mean, Kaworu was trapped. Despite being the angel of free will, Kaworu’d been created and raised to destroy the world (in the drafts, Kaworu learns this at the age of ten. On their birthday. And cries about it because who wants to destroy the world and smite all life? Who wants to be a monster?). SEELE intended for Kaworu to carry out their version of Instrumentality, during which all lilim would die save for SEELE. Moreover, angels and lilim cannot survive together: The planet cannot support two distinct evolutionary pathways requiring two distinct types of climat/biospheree. In an effort to prevent the death of humanity and the destruction of Lilith-based life in general, Kaworu dies.

(Much like Shinji, Kaworu’s passively suicidal. And thus Kaworu passes the burden of responsibility onto Shinji. Just as Shinji’s unsuccessful with his suicide attempt. Too depressed and self-loathing to live, too afraid and self-prizing to die. [nervous laughter])

-

On an unrelated note, given the seeming quartet of PDs we see in the main trio as various methods of dealing with depression - Shinji’s avoidant PD, Asuka’s histrionic PD, Rei’s schizoid PD - I wonder if Kaworu wasn’t meant to be emblematic of dependent personality disorder. The passing of responsibility to others, the defining of oneself through one’s relationships, the filtering of Shinji to exclude all imperfections, the overtly kind and caring nature, the speed with which Kaworu attaches to and then deattaches from Shinji …

-

So, onto the thematic. Kaworu appears in the story precisely where Shinji has reached (what the viewer thinks) to be the lowest low. Just as the entire world has opened up beneath him and is threatening to swallow him up, Shinji finds himself in the presence of someone who loves him unconditionally. Who cares about him. Who offers him wisdom and advice as though he mattered above anything. Who says, “I think I might have been born to meet you,” which places Shinji at the apex of Kaworu’s existence: Kaworu, quite literally, exists for Shinji’s sake.

(In Shinji’s mind.)

Of course, such perfect love cannot exist. Kaworu saves Shinji by offering him external validation of the highest degree. Shinji falls back upon Kaworu as a safety net. But you can’t do that. Unconditional love (and remember, too, that Kaworu is explicitly tied to the mother figure we have to reject, given that Adam’s the mother of the angels and all) isn’t real. People may appear to be like Kaworu, but they will leave.

You have to validate yourself internally.

That’s the thematic reason for Kaworu’s death. And it’s the most important one (pretty much everything in Evangelion exists to further the thematic and emotional ride, at the expense of everything else). After twenty-three episodes and fourteen years of being unable to form a meaningful relationship with anyone, Shinji discovers that one falls out of the sky. But it’s false, y’know. Perfect love isn’t real.

Shinji is confronted by the fact that Kaworu wants to die, by the fact that Kaworu also had issues and arguably issues greater than his, by the fact that he was too late to do anything—by the fact that he couldn’t do anything if he wanted to. By the fact that unconditional love truly is too good to be true.

And then Shinji, having murdered his internal idea about unconditional love can exist, tries to commit suicide himself and fails. And then comes End of Evangelion/episodes twenty-five and twenty-six.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

Did Yui really wait for Asuka to die? Or was Asuka's death the catalyst for her to finally get Shinji to make a move? I know she's more than what she seems but it seems cold-hearted to let her son listen to his 14-year-old friend get ripped to shreds

What an incredible question! The easiest way to answer will be to hit that scene directly and take a look. Besides, it’s an excuse for me to rewatch End of Evangelion: What’s not to love?

So, first question: Was Yui waiting specifically for Asuka to die, or was she waiting for a catalyst to get Shinji to move?

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[ritsumaya2]

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So, first question: Was Yui waiting specifically for Asuka to die, or was she waiting for a catalyst to get Shinji to move?

Let’s set up the scene. Misato pushes Shinji into the elevator and collapses to the ground, bleeding from a gunwound, dying. In the meantime Asuka faces the Mass Production EVA over the course of her five minutes. When Shinji arrives at the cage, however, he discovers that Unit-01 is covered in bakelite.

Despairing and taking the first opportunity possible as an excuse not to take any action whatsoever, Shinji curls up to await death.

The Mass Production EVA slaughter Asuka.

Here’s an important part: Shinji and Yui are keeping tabs on what’s happening outside, even if Shinji doesn’t recognise the implications. Maya (Lieutenant Ibuki) is giving them updates on the situation. It’s not that Yui has some sort of “sixth sense” about Asuka’s death. She’s listening.

Maya can’t quite complete hir statements. But for Shinji, it’s enough; the Second Children is dead, and the Third Children responds not with grief but with a rationalisation (Shinji’s too far gone for anything and at this point I don’t blame him—there’s legitimately nothing he can do, unless the EVA were to move on her own):

So Asuka’s death isn’t the catalyst for Shinji to act. In fact, it was the epiphany that Asuka’s still alive that finally prompted Shinji to yelp her name and “awaken” from his nadir in the earlier scene in Misato’s car. His motivation is to ensure she doesn’t die. And so, when she does, Shinji slips back into the realms of apathy and depression.

At that exact moment of Asuka’s death, Yui takes advantage of the S2 engine she consumed from Zeruel’s core. Since she doesn’t have to rely on the umbilical cord or on the “five minute rule” any longer, she’s … well, free to do whatever she wants. In other words she’s no longer bound by the presence of a pilot (the existence of “mother” depends upon the existence of “child”) but can move freely.

Ikari Yui: now with unlimited energy!

Yui could have done that at any point. The sudden violent upheaval of the bakelite more or less confirms that she wasn’t “trying” and then barely broke through at that point. And importantly, Asuka’s death had the opposite effectof catalysing Shinji.

Forcibly taking Shinji into herself (uh, not like that, although symbolically, between the death of the father and the, a-hem, everything else, Evangeliondoes point out the representative fantastic ‘dream-world’ of Freud only to smack it on the rear and throw it out with the garbage once Shinji rejects it, but anyway), Yui rises to resonate with the Mass Production EVA and take the Seed of Life into herself to become an actualised god. Phew.

I’m not certain what conclusion we could draw other than the fact that she was waiting for Asuka to die.

The second part of that question, then, is why would Yui do so? Answer: for the benefit of humanity.

I’m going to go ahead and disclaimer this section by stating that as much as I agree with her view that “anywhere can be paradise”, I disagree with her utilitarianism.

Now, Yui to some extent appears (I say appears because it’s difficult to analyse a character whose appearances are mostly marked through the filtrated realties of others) to embrace utilitarianism, a philosophy in which happiness is maximised. In other words, it’s perfectly moral and just to allow the suffering of one or a minority in exchange for the happiness and peace of the majority. To use a rephrased quote by one of my least favourites authors of all time, a utilitarian would kill a billion in order to bring about the conditions that would cause the rise of a billion and one.

And Yui, the daughter of a prominent member of SEELE, believed that Instrumentality and immortality would be the saviours of humanity. Hence, the suffering of a few individuals (Asuka, Shinji, and so on) means nothing, because Instrumentality would help all of humanity.

Why was Yui waiting for Asuka to die? The Mass Production EVA were needed to jump-start Instrumentality. If Shinji were to end up out there in Unit-01, he could have successfully assisted Asuka in repelling them, which would have stopped Instrumentality in its tracks (in NGE2, that’s one of the requirements for the best ending, in fact).

But was Yui really waiting for Asuka to ‘die’? Not quite. First of all Yui knew—if not knew, then she definitely was hedging her life and humanity on an educated guess—that Asuka would appear in Instrumentality nonetheless. In Yui’s mind, she was causing Asuka temporary pain in exchange for infinite pleasure.

Indeed, even if Instrumentality were rejected, Asuka would still pop back on shore a changed person. Which is what happens. As Yui points out …

… which in turn is a direct restatement of her earlier philosophy. After Gendo expresses his doubt and concern for his son (a lot can change in fourteen years),

Yui gently quiets him.

I suspect that it might actually be the same quote, but someone who knows Japanese will have to help me on that count. It’s a step-by-step restatement, in any case.

Why is Yui trying to become immortal then? Because whereas this version of existence depends upon certain external conditions being met …

… this version of existence does not. It’s a direct parallel—or anti-parallel, of sorts.

For Shinji, just the promise of existence in his life is enough. The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth. For Yui, a monument to humanity must exist somewhere, lest the universe forget of our hopes, our fears, our accomplishments, our failures, our love.

-

By the way, I’m not defending her actions, but explaining her actions from her perspective. As much as I respect and admire Yui for being one of the most incredible characters on Evangelion, I would never, ever, ever let her around the kids.

(If you ask me personally, as in, if you ask tumblr user GC fiendswithbenefits, I agree with Shinji. Let the universe swallow us whole and paint us small and insignificant against the abyss of the stars. Because wenot the centre of the universe and so we must help one another and find compassion for ourselves and our fellow living beings, because the cold universe will not. I’m not being cynical here, by the way. I’m quite a fan of the universe, cold and apathetic as it may be.)

Did I answer your question? Did I miss anything? As always, your comments, questions, and concerns are welcome.

[transmechanicus]

The making of the AT field, aka Midnight Epiphany 2

This one is about AT fields, what they’re probably made of, and why things like a Prog Knife or the Positron Laser Cannon can penetrate it.

After checking my idea with fiendswithbenefits to make sure I wasn’t making some kind of ridiculous claim (because I’m not a physicist), I am now able to present you with: The Making of the AT Field.

As most of you probably know, the AT Field is a near invincible barrier wielded by Angels and Evangelions, although less extensively by the latter. Explosives and N2 mines are practically useless against the field, requiring an Evangelion Prog knife to penetrate it. Up until now, most of you probably didn’t think such a thing was possible with modern technology. Although we lack the ability to form an AT field at this time, we can investigate what it’s composed of and why it works as it does.

During research for a previous post on pocket dimensions, a unique particle known as a positron was frequently mentioned. Described as the antimatter form of an electron, a positron is a positively charged particle, which upon contact with electrons, destroys both itself and the electron. With this in mind, all materials that are relevant to this contain electrons, including missiles, bullets, N2 mines/bombs, and Evangelion fists. So, when these things collide with the AT field, their electrons are destroyed and they fall apart at an atomic level. The AT field doesn’t suffer this effect due to the fact that the Angel’s S2 engines most likely produce a constant supply of positrons, rendering these weapons useless due to the small number of positrons they destroy.

The Evangelion Prog Knife is a different story, capable of cleaving away layers of positrons with each slash. This is most likely due to the blade being heavily charged with electrons, giving it the “vibrating” effect noted by Kensuke in the early episodes. This is due to the fast movement of the excited electrons, resulting in the very material of the blade appearing as if it’s moving. This also applies to the bayonet on Mari’s rifle used against Zeruel, and the bolts that particular weapon fires. The Progressive effect doesn’t apply to Evangelion standard rifles, miniguns, or various other pointy tools seen in the series and films. The positron rifle was able to penetrate Ramiel’s field due to it’s blast being made of positrons as well, allowing it to slip through the AT field and anhiallate a chunk of it’s S2 engine.

The Evangelion AT field is the perfect counter to those used by the Angels, due to them being made of the same substance. Imagine two small soap bubbles combining into one larger bubble, although not a perfect example, it provides a similar image to how Evangelions are able to penetrate most Angelic AT fields. It’s interesting that this method was not attempted on Zeruel, as at no point in the fight did Mari attempt to activate Unit 02’s field. Whether or not it would have been successful due to the sheer number of positrons in it’s field remains a mystery.

In the real world, positrons are made by beta decay in laboratory experiments but are usually destroyed almost immediately by surrounding electrons. Experiments with them have been conducted in the Large Hadron Collider, and due to the ways we have discovered in producing positrons, it gives us insight on the type of reactions occurring in S2 engines. The laser weapons are likely projected beams of positrons, explaining how they can rip through things such as the Geofront Pyramid with relative ease.

Where the primary weapon of the Angels may have seemed like magic at the time, I hope this sheds some light on how very real some of these concepts are, and the terror they could wreck in the wrong hands. Evangelion is not something to be taken lightly, especially when such technology may already be in our grasp. Even such things as the S2 engine may someday become a reality, and with it the potential for Angels.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

do you think that, based off your eva analysis and the hedgehog's dilema, toji doesnt show up in nge after the angel attack bc he came over the hedgehog dilema? like.. he is pretty much the only character ive seen in neg who has been able to take the reality of others and accept it, before eoe.

Mm, you know, I honestly hadn’t quite considered that before. It’s true that Toji appears more down to Earth and ready to accept reality as is.

Yet Toji, too, is a product of the constraints placed upon him in the Hedgehog’s Dilemma society, regarding the manner in which he filters reality through “violence” and his seemingly intrinsic masculinity. On the former he not only hits Shinji to work out his emotions but also has Shinji hit him back in order to establish a line of communication between them, and so on: Since he cannot interact with another human being on an emotionally open level, he does so via the proxy of “masculine” contact (e.g. violence). Indeed, by placing full responsibility of his sister’s hospitalisation on Shinji, Toji narrows a grey worldview (what about the angel? What about NERV having forced Shinji to pilot? Could Toji have acted more responsibly during the attack and thereby prevented his sister from being wounded? and so on) into an extremely black-and-white portrait that transfers the full weight of responsibility to Shinji. Unfairly to Shinji. Narrowing one’s perception of reality? Hm.

His blatant refusal to consider anything feminine (a trait carried over for comedic purposes to the Rebuilds) is linked to his filtration of reality. In this case he has squeezed himself into the box of masculine-approved activities and feelings, perceiving his world as split into a non-existent duality.

Moreover Toji suffers from the Hedgehog’s Dilemma as well. Not only does he hide the truth of his pilothood from Kensuke and Shinji (the former of which is wholly apathetic, the latter of which does not know and cannot ask Toji why he’s been so downcast recently, because that would open a mode of communication unacceptable to a reality filtered through “masculinity”), but he and Hikari likewise dance through their communication with one another. Hikari communicates through her filtration of reality. Toji, through his. As a result their “relationship” is one of gently dancing around each other instead of truly expressing their feelings.

The sequence of Hikari humming happily as she prepares lunch, firm in her belief that she has at last made a break-through in her relation with Toji, while Toji is nearly dying in the EVA, is horrifying.

Hedgehog’s Dilemma indeed.

Yet Toji also takes part in one of the most bizarre sequences in all of Evangelion. While in the hospital, Toji has a moment of pre-Instrumentality, where he momentarily exists in the boundaries of Shinji’s Hell Train. The sequence itself is brief: Toji recognise Shinji and wonders what they’re doing here. But given what we know of Instrumentality—specifically, what Instrumentality represents (gaining empathy first for yourself and then for everyone)—that short clip supports that Toji has begun to resolve the Hedgehog’s Dilemma and cease to filter his reality.

Canonically, he and Kensuke aren’t seen again. Toji’s hospitalised and eventually moves away. Kensuke also moves away. Hikari sticks around enough to provide an escape for Asuka, but after Asuka flees the Horaki household, they, too, move away (taking Pen2 with them). At least they’re around in Instrumentality.

Did I miss anything? Please let me know! At any rate, thank you for the interesting question: I love talking about minor characters.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

I have not watched EVA. But I have been extremely curious about it, and read up on it a lot (including all of your analysis posts). It all seems very interesting, but the reason I've not watched it is I've seen gifs from both the anime and various films depicting the child characters sexually-- which makes me very, very uncomfortable. Can you speak to how common that is, how objectified their bodies are in those scenarios, and your thoughts on it?

Oh my. That question’s a bit of a doozy, and I’m glad that someone has asked this. A bit of analysis and personal rambling under the cut, with warnings for #misogyny, #objectification, and the like. I will not include any images, because I have no interest in spreading nsfw stuff on my blog, but there will be some in-depth discussion.

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[davidwave4]

I’d just add that 99%of the fanservice of the actual show is set up as a form of critique, not for superficial reasons. Things like Shinji falling on a naked Rei are set up as precursors to Anno’s full scale deconstruction of the male gaze/sexualizing mentality. Shinji is, at first, posed as the stereotypical male figure (for the male viewers to identify with) and then systematically inverted, systematically “queered” to the point where the viewer has to confront their notions of sexuality as a human lens. I can’t think of another show (anime or not) that does this.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

While I would agree that a lot of the fanservice is there to set up for a critique thereof, including the Rei scene (with Shinji looking at zir through his father’s glasses, when Shinji must later reject Gendo’s life path), I would not exaggerate that to be 99%. There’s still a lot of completely unnecessary fanservice in the anime that exists to … well, be fanservice. For example, in the very opening, do we really need to see Misato’s breasts outlined despite the rest of her being in silhouette? And so on.

One should face the reality of their favourite anime series as well. Evangelion isn’t perfect, and to gloss over its flaws is to gloss over the show as far as I’m concerned.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

I have not watched EVA. But I have been extremely curious about it, and read up on it a lot (including all of your analysis posts). It all seems very interesting, but the reason I've not watched it is I've seen gifs from both the anime and various films depicting the child characters sexually-- which makes me very, very uncomfortable. Can you speak to how common that is, how objectified their bodies are in those scenarios, and your thoughts on it?

Oh my. That question’s a bit of a doozy, and I’m glad that someone has asked this. A bit of analysis and personal rambling under the cut, with warnings for #misogyny, #objectification, and the like. I will not include any images, because I have no interest in spreading nsfw stuff on my blog, but there will be some in-depth discussion.

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

One of my reservations about Neon Genesis Evangelion—and, indeed, the first thing that I talk about whenever someone asks me what I’d change about the anime—is the fanservice. The franchise, at its core, is built upon the sexualisation of women, and particularly of fourteen-year-old girls.

I know that Anno (the director/head guy) has said some things about how you shouldn’t objectify girls and so on. But seriously, the franchise is built on top of their sexualisation. Flat-out. If you don’t want to support Evangelion for those reasons, I would completely understand.

Specifically, with regards to the objectification, the plugsuits are skintight and show off the girls’ “curves”. The fourteen-year-old girls’ curves, that is.  There are also some other questionable scenes. For instance, in one sequence, Asuka (who is seeking validation as an adult women, which in her mind correlates to sexual attraction from men; she eventually realises that she was wrong) presents her cleavage to Shinji in an attempt to get him to pay attention to her sexually. This is accompanied by an exaggerated bouncing effect clearly meant to arouse the (allocishet) male viewer.

Likewise, in many of the “mental mind trips” into Shinji’s thoughts, we’re treated to the objectification of women to a severe degree. And in some of the trippier sequences, when we see the silhouettes of the characters involved drift across the screen, you can bet that the female characters are drawn in ways that exaggerate their breasts, thigh gaps, and “child-bearing” hips.

There are other small things. Like how Misato doesn’t wear a bra around the house, so on occasion you’ll get to see her breasts bob slightly. Or how, inEnd of Evangelion, they decided to represent a [major spoiler] via a giant naked fourteen-year-old with the nipples drawn in, when they really could have used a less overtly sexual design.

There are … definitely a lot of problems.

[sigh]

Fortunately, there’s very little in the way of other forms of fanservice, probably due to budget constraints. There’s little to no Gainax bouncing in the plugsuits (at least, not from what I’ve seen, though I typically don’t pay attention to stuff like that); there are no panty shots to my knowledge, although you do see panties on occasion (just not on a girl); and so on. Again, budget constraints.

So, why do I personally invest so much of my time in Evangelion? Because I’ve yet to see an anime that so accurately captures what depression and mental illness and so on look like, framed in the context of wonderfully complex characters, and ultimately presents a message with which I wholeheartedly agree regarding the entire “happiness can be anywhere so long as you’re alive” and rejecting death/escapism.

(And to some extent, I would much rather see objectified women treated otherwise with respect and with well-written, gorgeous character arcs, than non-objectified women who exist solely to be moe or to cause manpain or whatever. I find “internal” fanservice [the characters’ personalities, actions, and role in the story] to be much worse than “external” fanservice [the characters being attractive or visually sexualised]. However, that’s a personal thing. And it’s born out of “so much is shit that I’ll pick the lesser of two evils”. Honestly? Evangelion is undoubtedly the most fanservice-y show I’ve watched/enjoyed. Hm. And my opinion on what counts as “well-written” is extremely picky, while my tolerance for what counts as “objectified” isextremely low.)

The female/female-coded characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion are amongst the most well-written, complex characters that I’ve ever seen. I mean, at a very basic level, the most developed male character (and arguably male, at that, given the trans interpretations) is Shinji. But Rei, Asuka, and Misato are just as developed as Shinji is. I would also throw Ritsuko into the mix honestly but she receives less screentime, so [shrug].

No, really. I think that Misato might have just as much if not more screentime than Shinji. Which is saying something. She’s really the secondary protagonist and it’s absolutely wonderful.

Asuka, Rei, and Misato (as you’ve seen by my character analyses) undergo so much beautiful development. As well, not only are their mental illnesses are treated with extreme respect, but their character arcs showcase them as extremely complex and as take-downs of many of the anime archetypes that continue to proliferate today. Evangelion asks what must have happened to someone to prompt them to act in the way that the archetypes do, and it’s played logically out, and it hurts.

Not to mention the fact that the protagonist ultimately doesn’t find love with the objectified women, but with a not-objectified character. Because sexual attraction and objectification and filtration of reality aren’t love at all! And the women in question aren’t attracted to Shinji for harem effects: Rei finds an adopted family in Shinji (NGE2 confirms that Rei’s feelings were platonic); Asuka merely uses Shinji to validate herself when Kaji rejects her; and Misato cares about Shinji as her charge/adopted child (I’ve explained the kiss/etc. in other posts).

Evangelion, too, actually calls out its characters (and the viewer) for objectifying women. There’s one sequence wherein Asuka is attempting to force Shinji to realise what Shinji’s been doing. The camera then flits between Shinji’s depressed gaze and various sexualising shots of Asuka, while Asuka calls Shinji out on that very sexualisation.

So, it’s your call. There’s definitely a lot of fanservice and objectification happening, and I understand how that can make people uncomfortable. But the anime is well-written. And the female characters, in particular, are soincredible. There’s a reason that I essentially focus my analysis on the female characters: There’s so much about them to analyse that I could probably talk about them forever and never finish.

(Really, if you want to watch an anime as well-written, skilfully developed, and so on as Evangelion without objectified women, try Revolutionary Girl Utena. I use Evangelion because it’s very therapeutic for my personal issues, as it deals better with my particular “flavour” of depression, but Utenais so incredible. Actually, just please watch Utena. Whether you likeEvangelion or not. Please watch Utena. Please. Please.)

Now, just a word of caution: I’m referring to the original anime series here.Rebuild of Evangelion is more overt on both kinds of fanservice: external and internal. The number of panty shots, Gainax bounces, and other visual fanservicey elements (the very plugsuits have been redesigned to draw even more attention to the objectification of their bodies, and one of the newly introduced characters, Mari, literally only exists to have big breasts) have been taken to the next level. What I find more aggravating, however, is the overt internal fanservice. Asuka and Rei’s complexity have vanished in favour of: (1) a sanitised always by herself waiting for you to pull her out of her shell tsundere waifu (who doesn’t even know Kaji) and (2) a naïve innocent childlike want-affection-just-add-water waifu (who has lost the mystery of the original for “pokapoka”) (3) trapped in a love triangle for the Shinji D.

You know, there’s an absolutely gorgeous scene in Evangelion wherein Asuka and Rei are discussing their issues with one another. Specifically, Rei is attempting to reach out and offer Asuka some advice, and Asuka takes it extremely poorly to showcase her mental decline. And it’s all about the two of them. Shinji is only mentioned briefly in the series because Asuka’s snapping point comes as a result of something that he did (non-romance-related) and he’s only mentioned once. Neither Rei nor Asuka appear to hold any romantic interest in him whatsoever. Indeed, neither of them seem to careabout Shinji at that moment except for the repercussions of his actions on Asuka’s psyche.

By contrast, the Rebuild version has Rei reveal that Shinji makes Rei feel “warm”. In response Asuka snaps that Rei is clearly in love with Shinji and attempts to slap Rei because she, too, is in love with Shinji. Seriously. That’s it. That’s the fucking scene. Congratulations you just went from “complex female characters with respectfully written mental illnesses” to “hey otaku which girl do you wanna fug”. Congratu-fucking-lations.

[rubs temples]

So, if you want to see what I’m talking about, watch the twenty-six episode anime and the films, Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion. Don’t watch the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

Also, one last warning: the Evangelion is fandom is 99% complete garbage and 1% good. The fandom will ruin this for you if you’re not careful. Keep abreast of the situation and good luck! Do let me know what you decide.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

why asexual kaji, if i can ask ? don't mean this in a bad way i'm just genuinely curious (ﾟﾍﾟ

Ah, but of course! I wouldn’t assume that you meant it in a bad way; after all, it doesn’t seem like a bit of a far-fetched headcanon, doesn’t it? Especially considering that the character we see in the show appears to be … anything but.

(Hm, I’ve been talking much more about Kaji than I previously have. Now my whole quirk about referring to everyone by first name save for Kaji and Fuyutsuki is bothering me. Oh well.)

But, like most of my headcanons (save for the ones that are simply wish fulfilment), it does have some basis in canon. To begin, I’m going to assume that you’ve read That Really Important Kaji Analysis by fujiij. If not, now’s the perfect chance to do so.

(In other words, please read it, because I’m going to be referencing it extensively.)

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[qmisato]

I really love any headcanon/inference that Kaji falls somewhere between ace, to gray-ace, to demisexual, and I’d like to add in a few observations, since I have the convenience of visual guides laying around.

Now, we’re operating under the backdrop of understanding that in true Geminial fashion, Kaji has an urge to disguise his true intent by forging scenario-specific personalities depending on who he’s talking to and/or what he wants to hide. I only bring that up, because each of these scenes aren’t 100% conclusive when taken separately. But if you’re already mindful of Kaji’s aforementioned duplicity, things start to make a lot of sense.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

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[ritsumaya2]

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I really love any headcanon/inference that Kaji falls somewhere between ace, to gray-ace, to demisexual, and I’d like to add in a few observations, since I have the convenience of visual guides laying around.

Now, we’re operating under the backdrop of understanding that in true Geminial fashion, Kaji has an urge to disguise his true intent by forging scenario-specific personalities depending on who he’s talking to and/or what he wants to hide. I only bring that up, because each of these scenes aren’t 100% conclusive when taken separately. But if you’re already mindful of Kaji’s aforementioned duplicity, things start to make a lot of sense.

Ok. I would say that all in all, Kaji has four “sex scenes” — in Episode 15, Episode 20, Episode 22, and End of Evangelion, respectively. Yes, no one is having sex in Episode 15 and 22, but I consider them “spiritually” thematic, because they are evidential when contrasted with a complementary sex scene (Episode 15 -> Episode 25; and Episode 22 —> Episode 25’). However, I won’t get into the specifics of Episode 15 here, since it diverges somewhat from the topic.

Let’s start with Episode 20, because it provides the most clues, for the most obvious reasons. We know Kaji and Misato just had sex — there’s a used condom wrapper that can be seen in the corner of the screen, plus this half a second cut from EOE more or less provides visual confirmation. The sex scene in Episode 20 is supposed to cement a basis that Misato is truly a Sexual Being® and Kaji is truly… well, Less So®. Which challenges their respective “NERV” personas: wherein Misato sheds (in her mind) her less-than-admirable habits to become a No-Nonsense Tactical Major, and Kaji does the opposite — shedding his more passive, nurturing temperaments to become a textbook image of Unhampered Masculinity and Promiscuity.  

Anyway. Belying his words, we know Kaji didn’t come meet Misato for sex, because he brings the pill. The data pill. He brought it with him ahead of time, and if the line “I can’t tell you in a place like this” is any judge, he probably knew ahead of time that he would be observed by NERV or SEELE or both (which means the enigmatic “They” very much watched Misato and Kaji have sex at the motel; which should come as no shock considering what SEELE did to Ritsuko in Episode 23).

If you turn the volume up to the highest dial and listen to this scene (which I don’t recommend under any circumstances, unless you live alone and have a high tolerance for second-hand embarrassment) it becomes apparent that this is, thematically, for Misato and only Misato. Kaji’s voice is never heard in his sex scenes. The sounds of pleasure are Misato’s… and afterwards?

This cut is a visual precursor (technically, call-back) to this cut:

Not just visual, too:

  KAJI (EPISODE 20): Well, I’m honored.

  KAJI (EPISODE 22): Well, I’m honored.

Most people chalk up Kaji’s blasé, “I don’t want to be here; I want to go home and watch Netflix” post-coital-tristesse to the fact that he was dismayed at the prospects of dying tomorrow morning. Yet, that conclusion is flimsy at best, because it says nothing of the auditory and visual ties to Kaji and Asuka’s scene, wherein Kaji’s measure of libido amounts to zero. Notice also, that in Episode 20, Kaji goes on to elaborate that he is honored “to be used by a lady.” Like GC said, Kaji is highly cognizant of the fact that Misato is highly sexual; and unlike with Asuka, he is (obviously) much more amiable to play his role as a sexual partner.

We are treated to another Kaji/Misato sex scene in End of Evangelion. This time, it’s 2008, and they’re college aged. Like Episode 20 and 22, the auditory and visual clues are telling.

It’s no coincidence we’re focusing in on an electric fan, here — just as coffee functions as a symbolic window to Kaji’s “sincere” side, so too do fans. Remember, he dies in front of a giant one. And again, if one were to listen to this scene at max volume, it is clear that Kaji’s tone is hardly what you would call eager, passionate, or enthusiastic. Against all expectations culled from his machismo-fueled persona, Kaji is marked by remarkably low functioning desire, with Misato heartily beckoning him to the call.

Now, I don’t mean to imply that the narrative is telling us that Kaji dislikes having sex with Misato. On the contrary, I feel as though the above instances, coupled with all the evidence that Kaji is an excellent method actor, implies a naturally low libido, which can be readily applied to a reading under demisexuality or the ace-spectrum.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

i love kawoshin so much but i was thinking since thematically eva is a series that is about not relying on external forces for validation, and instead loving and motivating yourself internally, does that doom kawoshin forever since kaworu has the potential to be the greatest external source of validation for shinji

Ever since I wrote up that piece on the Hedgehog’s Dilemma and the Cruel Angel’s Thesis of Evangelion—well, actually, ever since I started writing analysis of Evangelion, if we’re going to be perfectly honest about these things—I’ve been dreading the day that someone would ask me this particular question.

So kudos to you for asking it, and anti-kudos to me I suppose for answering it.

Answer below the cut. If you prefer happy kawo/shins, I advise you to turn back immediately.

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

I wouldn’t say doomed. But yes, Kaworu’s death is necessary within the scope of the themes of Evangelion, though not within the internal canon. What do I mean by that?

Well, in the internal canon of Evangelion, you can get a “happy ending”. After all, in NGE2, the events of End of Evangelion are presented as a Bad End, whilst the Good End inevitably involves keeping Kaworu alive and having Shinji and Kaworu fall for one another/end up together. So, no, shin/kawo isn’t doomed in that regard. They can be together.

But if you’re asking from the point of view of the Evangelion thesis, of the external reason behind taking a “Bad End” for the film, then yes, shin/kawo is doomed. After all, as you pointed out, Kaworu is the ultimate external validation. Indeed, Kaworu is portrayed as one of those effortless love interests who breezes into someone’s life with such an outpouring of love and affection that the love interest’s target of affection is overwhelmed and “changed for the better”, only for the love interest to be gruesomely ripped away or killed. Like Ikari Yui or, as other EVA analysts have pointed out, Kaji Ryouji.

It’s a consistent and perpetual thread. Because ultimately, Evangelion is about accepting and loving the self and about loving others (not necessarily in that way, but from an empathetic standpoint).

A being like Ikari Yui or like Ayanami Rei (Lilith Rei, the one capable of guiding and providing endless validation to humanity) or like Nagisa Kaworu simply cannot exist. A being like one of them is invariably the product of us (us being the “normal people”, i.e. the people who are not like Ikari Yui or Nagisa Kaworu or Ayanami Rei) filtering our perception of these supposed “miracle people” in order for us to see exactly what we want to see.

But completely selfless people do not exist.

(It’s not a point of cynicism here. After all, Evangelion is also about whacking Shinji over the head and making sure that Shinji knows to be less selfish. Selfess people—as in, Kaworu-style selfless people—don’t exist.)

Moreover, there’s a reason that Kaworu is also tied to being a mother (the mother of the angels) and why Kaworu shows up along with Rei and Yui to gang up on Gendo at the ending. It’s a massive fantasy for Shinji, everything that Shinji has ever wanted in life, and it’s what Shinji ultimately rejects.

The mother. The perfect figure. Rejecting that external validation to be born into reality. It all fits togetherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

So the purpose of Kaworu in the external thesis of Evangelion is to exactly that, then: to remind Shinji that such people don’t exist; to open Shinji’s heart with that taste of external validation that made Shinji that … Shinji had never loved anyone; and to rip that away from Shinji because you can’t seek external validation in someone else.

(And, to a lesser extent, to remind us that Shinji is bisexual, bi the way. Good-bi.)

You have to validate yourself internally first. Because you can’t depend wholly on someone else who might leave you forever once you recognise that they’re not all that you thought they were (as in, they might not leave—the actual person—but the idea of them—the ideal person—will). So you have to love yourself and accept yourself and validate yourself from the inside out, creating your own internal structure, and then slowly build up on at that. Improve yourself. Empathise with others. Love others, once you can love yourself.

But yes. Shin/kawo is thematically “doomed”. (Which doesn’t mean that Shinji is going to get with Asuka simply because she’s temporarily the only other person on the planet before everyone else starts coming back. That’s not the point of the ending. Again, Neon Genesis Evangelion isn’t about your waifu wars; you’re thinking of Rebuild of Evangelion.)

I’m so sorry, anon. [hands you a tissue]

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

just rewatched EOE and i have a few questions, if you don't mind: what was the purpose of the live action sequence? to drive home that the dilemmas the characters face are ultimately our own? to highlight the fact that the characters are now in a state of unreality? 2) i read that the while the last two episodes do a gr8 job of wrapping up character arcs, they do little to resolve the plot, which is what EOE does, but it is also shit at resolving said arcs. thoughts on that?

Oh boy! This is one of those big questions about End of Evangelion, isn’t it? To be honest, I’m still mulling over the exact purpose of the live action sequences, so I might change this later, but I can take a stab at it!

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

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What’s the purpose of the “real life” sections? Like most things in Evangelion, we need to look at it through both an internal (e.g. why is it literally happening in the story) and an external (e.g. why did Anno and the Project EVA crew put it into the story) lens.

About three-quarters of the way through End of Evangelion, the film breaks one of those Great Big Rules About Animation. Of course, End of Evangelionin general breaks far too many Great Big Rules About Literature And Film than I would care to list. But this one’s pretty damn major: End of Evangelionincludes a live-action sequence. And not merely a live-action sequence, but one that actively calls out the viewers of Evangelion directly to their faces.

Yeah, you know that one shot that pans through the whole bluish cinema centre? That was taken at a showing of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth.

This shot! See the guy in the front who has brought his entire armada of plushies for company? It’s an Evangelion showing.

And, of course, there’s the entire “Anno flashes a bunch of mail from his fans, including death threats” aspect of it. It’s that moment wherein Anno reaches his hands through the screen and presents the viewer with reality, no matter how much we might tried to silence him.

So imagine that you’re a self-proclaimed otaku in 1997. Imagine that you’ve spent so much money purchasing merchandise and sending Evangelion to popularity, fame, and success. Imagine that you’ve come to depend onEvangelion as an escape from the shitty reality of your life. And then, as you’re sitting in a film theatre, you’re suddenly confronted with reality.

What the hell, you’re thinking. I came here to get away from reality, not see it on screen. Eh, they did in episode twenty-six. It’s that same deep, pretentious stuff.

Then out of nowhere you’re confronted with a pan of people just like you, which may even include you. You’re reminded of who you are and what you are. You’re reminded that you exist; that you’re real; and that you’re only here to escape life because you hate yourself.

So from an external perspective, it’s the entire theme about the perception of reality. Stop filtering reality, says Evangelion, and accept your life so that you can improve yourself. You won’t find happiness in manga and otaku culture, says Evangelion, but as long as you chose to reject escapism and go out and grab life, you have a chance to be happy. That’s the thematic “purpose” of the real-life scenes.

Internally, the “real world” is presented as an alternate timeline of sorts. Although the original version included a far longer real-life sequence that included real-life actors, actresses, and actrettes portraying the Evangelioncharacters (not unlike that voice-actor-made Fullmetal Alchemist film), where they would have shown the power of circumstance (in this other timeline, for example, Asuka somehow ended up dating Toji of all people, because love is ultimately circumstance and anywhere can be paradise as long as you’re alive [side-eyes Rebuild of Evangelion’s depiction of Shinji and Kaworu as soulmates]), the finished product gets through the same via the dialogue in as a compact amount of space as possible.

It’s more or less like Kaworu and Rei pulling a Ghost of Christmases Past, Present, and Future. But not to guilt trip Shinji. Rather, the two guide Shinji towards understanding that one must reject death and must reject escapism, that one must live life, that one must see reality as it is. And in the context, Shinji’s realisation about reality happens in the literal reality—that switch from the escapism animation to the true reality—to drive home the point. We switch back because Evangelion is an animated feature, but its thematic purpose as a set piece is complete.

Does that make sense?

As for the end of the television series, I would agree to some extent.Evangelion isn’t over until End of Evangelion as far as I’m concerned; neither one works without the other. After all, End of Evangelion is the original conceived ending which the project was unable to accomplish due to budgetary constraints and other executive meddling. However, I’m ultimately glad that things worked out the way they did, since if the members of Project EVA had had a full budget, we might never have gotten episodes twenty-five and twenty-six.

Which are also instrumental (heheh) to Evangelion.

Episodes twenty-five and twenty-six and End of Evangelion have an incredible synergy; the oft-repeated generalisation that “the film depicts the ‘outside’ whilst the anime depicts the ‘inside’” is rather true. I can tell you, personally, that Evangelion likely wouldn’t have left such a major impact (heheh) on me if either the film or the last two episodes didn’t exist.

So, do I think that the last two episodes didn’t, mm, wrap up the plot? They didn’t, no. But not in the way that you think I mean it.

Evangelion, ultimately, isn’t about the science fiction or the political intrigue or anything of that sort. It’s a mental, emotional, and psychological scrap of humanity laid out bare for us to examine before being tossed whole into a labyrinth of chainsaws and glued together with fire and giant robot battles. The “point” of the anime is the psychological stuff, in other words.

The intrigue about the First Ancestral Race, the stuff about whether NERV or SEELE conquered the world in the end, the “religious metaphor” stuff that seems to be everyone in the west’s reason for thinking that Evangelion is deep (the Judeo-christian religious aesthetic is just that and nothing more: an aesthetic for the anime’s art to take after, as well as for some basic symbolism and foreshadowing in the New Theatricals, wherein the religious symbolism has been taken slightly more seriously, but anyway) … none of that matters. At all. One iota. Whatsoever.

It’s all about the emotions.

So yes, the anime absolutely wrapped up the developmental arcs of the characters. However, I’m talking about the intrapersonal arcs here: the arcs that deal with one individual and one individual only, the instrumentality of their soul.

But the plot isn’t done yet.

End of Evangelion is absolutely and completely necessary because the brilliance of that film climaxes not with episode 25’ but with the completion of the interpersonal—between people—and overall thematic arcs.

The film excellently closes Shinji and Asuka’s arc; Shinji and Rei’s arc; Shinji and Misato’s arc; Rei and Gendo’s arc; Ritsuko and Gendo’s arc; Asuka and Kaji’s arc; Rei and Kaworu’s arc; and more. And, of course, the film also rounds out the other thematic messages of Evangelion, including rejection from the mother and a filtration of reality in terms of how one views others, which the anime ending either neglected or only touched upon briefly.

In short, the ending to the original anime concerns itself with filtration of reality of oneself, of accepting oneself, and of loving oneself. The film, End of Evangelion, concerns itself with the filtration of the rest of reality and of other people, including the resolution of the Hedgehog’s Dilemma.

So when people say, “the film depicts the ‘outside’ whilst the anime depicts the ‘inside’,” they’re much more right than they think.

But, at any rate, that’s just my personal opinion/take on all of this. What about you? And, as always, thank you for the question, and don’t hesitate to ask further!

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

I've been wondering for a while now, what is your opinion about the nge manga? More specifically, about the way characters were handled in it? What changes do you consider positive/negative? I especially would like to hear your opinion on manga Shinji, if that's not too much to ask. And I'm sorry if these questions have already been asked ^^

You know, you should never, ever be worried about asking the same question more than once. After all, if something like that happens, I’ll simply point you in the right direction. Or I’ll have slightly altered/deepened my understanding of the topic. It happens all of the time, y’know!

(That said, I truly do need to go back and fix up my analysis masterpost, don’t I? I’ve probably accumulated something like double the analyses by now. Oops!)

EVA manga spoilers ahoy!

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

At any rate, I have answered regarding my favourite parts of the manga. But I’ll summarise them there briefly: First, I appreciated the push towards further backstory for certain characters (such as Kaji, even if I don’t entirely agree with the subsequent character development); I enjoyed the emphasis on certain aspects of mistaken characterisation (for example, in the manga, Asuka is explicitly tanged by Kaji); I felt like a few of the “alternate continuity” choices were intriguing and could have become better than the original (like the earlier introduction of Kaworu); and in my opinion the Rei presented in theEvangelion manga has hands-down the best developmental arc of any Rei. Hands-on.

Essentially I’m of the opinion that some of the ideas were intriguing but that much of the execution fell flat. It’s akin to the entire mess with the End of Evangelion stuff in the manga: Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to has agreed that the mangaka managed to make End of Evangelion “boring”, or at least one of the weakest parts of the manga. End of Evangelion, of course, has some of the best ideas in the series. Yet the manga’s execution wasn’t nearly as effective.

Some of that has to do with the media in question: There are some things that one can do in coloured, sound-filled animation that one simply cannot with a manga. But part of that has to do with the changes made in the manga that dragged out certain scenes to an absurd degree and cut down others. On an unrelated note, the manga’s art is absolutely gorgeous. Sometimes I’m very uncomfortable with the stylistic choices chosen to depict the perceived-female characters, and there are a few anatomical impossibilities here and there. But overall I do appreciate and enjoy the style: Sadamoto can draw. Regrettably, his artistic skill appears to have overshadowed his writing and pacing skills.

The characters. I’m going to go over the main kids; if you want me to talk about everyone else as well, I can!

As I’ve said before, manga Rei is probably my favourite incarnation of Rei simply due to the intricate, continued pace of zir character development. The entire motif of holding hands, I thought, was wonderfully ingenious and heart-tuggingly saddening/comforting at once. At least until the entire “burst into snow” thing. Psychoanalyse that.

Asuka was more or less left by the wayside (Sadamoto has stated that he dislikes her in general). I liked the way that the manga’s structure gave Asuka opportunities to shove off her military abilities, which the original anime didn’t particularly do until End of Evangelion. And I thought that her altered backstory could have led to a very interesting present-day character. Unfortunately, the manga didn’t go quite far enough.

Kaworu. There’s a reason the audience refers to manga Kaworu as “Karl” and I’ve already spoken at length about Karl. Again, very intriguing premise, probably my favourite premise for a Kaworu, and awful resultant character. I’m not even talking about likeability so much as Sadamoto’s complete failure to understand what Kaworu actually represented, symbolically, in the text.

With regards to Shinji, there’s also a reason that the audience has nicknamed him “Shaun”. Shaun. Hm. How can I say this. Okay, imagine a giant scale. On one side of the scale reside Shinji and other protagonists to Shinji in terms of personality. On the other side of the scale reside stereotypical shounen protagonists: people like Kamina from TTGL. Shaun would fall somewhere in the middle.

Yeah, seriously.

Essentially my opinion on Shaun is that Sadamoto infused him with elements of a generic shounen protagonist, which weakened the entire, you know, character arc of Shinji and the point thereof. A Shinji who could threaten someone with bashing their teeth in is not a Shinji with which I, for instance, could identify.

(I mean, Asuka’s supposed to be the abrasive-depressed character. Not that I think Sadamoto realised that. Or perhaps he did and just decided, “Fuck it; I don’t like her (which is the point); I’ll reduce her presence and give Shinji those traits that made her unlikeable, but he’s a ‘boy’, so he’ll be morelikeable! Brilliant!” and then kicked back to draw some objectified Asuka and Rei with tiny waists resembling one of the vertices of a triangle.)

Let me be clear, though: This isn’t a mere case of me complaining because “boo hoo you couldn’t self-insert!” There’s a marked disparity between self-inserting (which you really shouldn’t do) and identifying/relating with a character. Shinji was meant to be relatable to the “hedgehogs” of the world and particularly to those in cultures comparable to the manga otaku culture. Instead, in my experience, those very hedgehogs have admitted that they identified more with Shinji but tended to think of Shaun as the more likeable and better character because he took a more active role. Like the average shounen protagonist. Like Shinji shouldn’t do.

(I need to stress that I’m not basing this off of any empirical data. Just the general sense I’ve gotten in speaking to others.)

Shinji, too, has violent tendencies bubbling just underneath the surface. But Shaun, for all of his outwards increase in violence, does not possess themore threatening type hidden within. Like Toji. Toji might have punched Shinji a few times, but we still recognise him as an essentially good guy. Because he’s not “internally malicious”: He just works out his problems physically, which isn’t good either, but he has that “heart of gold”, so to speak. In a weird way, Shaun feels oddly similar. He’s more violent on the outside, sure. But the weight, the actual physical weight, behind his actions is gone. He never undergoes an overtly superficial validation arc only to plunge downwards. He never stoops as low as Shinji. He never goes there and back again, in other words.

Plus, Shaun annoyed me enough as a protagonist that I could scarcely finish reading the manga. But that’s a personal thing.

What did you think? Thank you for the question, as always!

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

hi!!! I love your blog. I have a question about the katakana for the rebuild movies. do you know why evangelion is spelled as ヱヴァンゲリヲン in rebuilds 1.0 through 3.0, but spelled as エヴァンゲリオン for 4.0?

Oh, thank you so much! Hm, let’s see. First of all I need to warn you that I don’t know Japanese and that everything I’m going to tell you here, I’ve read in other places and heard from other people. But I have done my research on the topic as well. Still, if I’m wrong in any form or fashion, please correct me!

All I know is that the day 4.0 drops, this is going to be me:

Answer under the cut.

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

The katakana for Evangelion, as in the original series, uses the character for “e”. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, for the New Theatricals, Studio Khara decided to pull out a special snowflake award and found a character that practically no one had used in a few decades: “we”. The “o” has also been replaced with “wo”. The “Evangelion” in the Rebuild of Evangelion is spelled “Wevangeliwon”.

Heheh.

4.0’s Evangelion, on the other hand, is spelled in the same manner as the original anime. So, either Studio Khara realised that “Wevangelion” looks absolutely ridiculous. Or there’s a deeper meaning. That’s the one I’m personally more interested in, so let’s take a look.

Okay, beyond earning special snowflake points for the franchise, it’s theWevangeliwon and then back Evangelion split, coupled with the logo for 4.0 (which includes a musical notation that could either indicate repeating the section or concluding the piece*) that’s making me think the timeloop theories have some water. Wevangelion was meant to be different: 2.0 is calledBreak, since it’s a “break” or divergence from the timeline, and 3.0’s Qstands for Quickening, which refers to when a mother senses their child—quickening means a springing to life.

By that, I suppose that Evangelion 4.0 is the “baby” to be born.  And it’s returning back to the original Evangelion. So, it’s possible that we’re going to get some form of timeloop theory confirmation (what if Wevangeliwon actually precedes Evangelion? I’ll laugh so hard I’ll snap my keyboard five ways from the Second Impact).

Or it’s a reference to Kaworu, who also uses that good-ole “wo” character that’s pronounced exactly same as “o”.Get it, because Kaworu was in the first three, and now that Kaworu’s dead (long live the Kaworu), Evangelionloses its special “w”. Guess this means Kaworu might not be coming back (wwwwwwww). Or if Kaworu does, then perhaps it’ll either be a “different” Kaworu (a la the moonworu theory) or something or that sort.

Or it’s some media-market shenanigans (Anno might be securing the copyright for using the Evangelion spelling or some such silly related thing, given the Khara-Gainax screaming-at-each-other that’s been happening recently).

Or it’s a thematic shift rather than an actual change. What do I mean? Each of the New Theatricals has pandered extensively to a given audience, perhaps to showcase how terrible that audience’s interference would be. 1.0 pandered to those who simply wanted high definition Neon Genesis Evangelion without any changes whatsoever because any alteration was clearly Bad and Wrong.

2.0 pandered to those interested in their “waifu” (note how both Rei and Asuka’s characters have been changed to make them more marketable) and to those who think that Evangelion should be about Shinji kicking ass in the robot (the ending has been compared to TTGL).

3.0 pandered to the shin/kawo fans and to those who think that Evangelionshould be sad and depressing at all times. You often hear people defending 3.0 by saying, “It’s a return to the actual mood and feel of Evangelion,” except that 3.0’s sadness is not the same as the anime’s and feels slightly contrived. But that’s a story for another time.

In fact, you can tell by which types of people liked which of the Rebuilds that Anno did indeed engineer each film to resonate with a specific aspect of his target audience. Just look at the difference in reception for /a/ (mostly full of those kinds of people who ate the Big Action Scenes and the objectification of the girls right up) versus tumblr (mostly full of those kinds of people who ate the increased Kaworu screentime and increased shin/kawo scenes right up), even though the New Theatricals actually represent a sanitised version of both.

[rubs temples]

Anyway, the fourth film, Evangelion, might at last stop pandering to a supposed audience and full out something closer in theme and mood to Neon Genesis Evangelion. Or, as I’m hoping, End of Evangelion. With the recent Cain/Abel speculation, I’m crossing my fingers.

*Regarding the musical notation stuff: In the latest logo that I’m aware of, there’s a little musical notation at the end. The musical notation in question is one half of a repeat sign (I’m unsure of the term in English, but essentially you repeat the section bracketed in with repeats a certain number of times, usually once). In the manner with which the notation is presented, it could theoretically represent a repeat or a conclusion. So we don’t know which one the logo’s meant to evoke. And we won’t know until the film comes out. Now that some fucking master trolling right there. Is the timeloop true? Is it just the ending? Fly to Japan on release day (or sit around on the internet waiting for some translators to mosey from 2ch to the inevitable thread on /a/) to find out!

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

hi, i was wondering if you have any theories about why in that last scene, where everyone congratulates shinji, kaworu isn't there? (it may seem like something small, but i really don't think it is??)

Hm. Well, we definitely know that Kaworu was a part of Instrumentality from End of Evangelion, and we also know that Shinji didn’t get to see Kaworu talking to him during the entire Instrumentality sequence in episode twenty-six (yes, I know, Instrumentality spans both episodes, but here I’m referring to the part where you get to see all of the characters stand around offering Shinji advice, as the “Ikari Shinji” in everyone else’s heads is presumably doing for them, in a manner of speaking).

We don’t see Kaworu doing that and so we don’t see Kaworu in the entire “omedetou” sequence either. So, why?

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

Well, first of all, let’s look at it from a production stand-point. There was already a massive gay panic going on at Gainax over the twenty-fourth episode which, may I remind you, was originally much more explicit with the romance, including Kaworu and Shinji kissing and Shinji being devastated over Kaworu’s rejection (it’s made clear that Kaworu is rejecting Shinji to protect him from pain in the first draft). Indeed, the draft right before the final isidentical to the final product, except for the existence of the kiss (which takes place during the scene in Kaworu’s apartment). That draft is the one that Anno wrote (or at least, one of the ones he wrote). Gainax certainly wasn’t happy about Evangelion, the airing history of which had already been full to the brim of issues: It was originally aired on a children’s timeslot only to be moved to an adult one after complaints, and the funding had been slashed.

(In fact, I’ve read that part of the reason behind the extreme low budget of the last two episodes was their budget was cut down even further following the twenty-fourth episode, on top of the frontloading the anime had done.)

So I think that part of the reason behind why Kaworu wasn’t in episodes twenty-five and twenty-six beyond the text at the beginning of the former was the fact that Gainax was undoubtedly breathing down Anno’s neck at this point. And didn’t want any more Kaworu. Then Kaworu turned into a cash cow of advertising and Gainax sat back. “Hm,” said Gainax, patting their fattening wallets, “maybe we can make this work after all.”

But let’s see if we can fanwank together regarding this from the point of the actual canon. We know that Kaworu was there for actual Instrumentality. Yet Instrumentality is technically for the lilim, what with Rei-Lilith-Adam collecting all of the souls in the Black Moon and so on and so forth. It’s possible that the Instrumentality “omedetou” sequence is a kind of “for the lilim only”, which is why Rei’s there, since as Lilith ze’s still a lilim zirself. Then Rei and Kaworu show up to guide Shinji through accepting reality now that Shinji has learned to love himself. That’s probably why the omedetou sequence doesn’t have Kaworu in-canon and all that jazz.

(Alternatively, since Evangelion is about the fact that you don’t need external validation and how unconditional love doesn’t exist, Shinji couldn’t hear it from Kaworu. Since Kaworu is indeed that unconditional love. Does that make sense?)

You’re right in that it’s an oversight and it probably has more to do with the production history/”behind the scenes” issues of Evangelion than with any in-canon reasoning or logic. End of Evangelion pretty clearly cements the importance of Kaworu in Instrumentality and to Shinji, so it’s not as if they excluded Kaworu for any reason. And you shouldn’t worry about that, but it’s a question that I’ve thought about myself pretty often! I think it’s just an oversight. Canonically, it’s because Kaworu isn’t a lilim.

So, to recap: Instrumentality begins. Episodes twenty-five and twenty-six happen. Shinji loves himself. Then Rei and Kaworu’s “live action” stuff happens and Shinji rejects escapism and Instrumentality!

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

Your tags on that kawrou post are perfect. You made me laugh so hard. Kawrou, you really blew it buddy.

3.33 Kaworu really makes me want to bite through my space bar and ascend to the next direction of pure, unadulterated anger. Certainly, characterisation in the Rebuild of Evangelion series in general was almost certainly intended to piss off fans (or rather, to pander to certain demographics to showcase how incorrect those demographics’ views of “what Evangelion should be” are, but that’s another post for another time and is more speculation of Studio Khara’s motives than actual analysis/etc.), but 3.33 Kaworu/Qworu strikes me as a particularly obvious example.

Brief discussion of anime Kaworu, Q Kaworu, and the disparities therein below the cut.

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

Well, let me begin by saying that Qworu’s actually my favourite Kaworu design (although I’ll miss the orange/blue undershirt contrast, violet fits Kaworu’s colour scheme significantly more) in terms of both visual design and personality. Unfortunately, pretty much everything that was intriguing and/or likeable about Kaworu has been replaced in favour of pandering to the fujoshi/yaoifan demographic even as the New Theatricals managed to cut out the love confessions for “We are friends, after all.”

(While I can appreciate Kaworu insisting upon their bond as more than merely romantic and while I would still argue for the canon status of the relationship in the New Theatricals, to the average viewer it’s much easier to pass off shin/kawo as subtext rather than text. Unlike in the anime. Sukiindeed.)

The Kaworu from Neon Genesis Evangelion has a few characteristics that come to mind immediately. Kaworu has a continuous conflict regarding the role of Adam, mother of the angels, and regarding the present existence of humanity/the lilim. Much like the other angels, Kaworu is not inherently malicious. Kaworu has no intention to destroy the world and seeks merely to reunite with Adam (hello, symbolism of the Father whose Son comes from the Father and is also part of the Father). Initially, SEELE intended to use Kaworu to collect everyone’s souls for Instrumentality instead of Rei. Kaworu, in meeting the lilim through Shinji (and note that it could have been anyone, but Kaworu happened to meet Shinji by chance), comprehends that the lilim deserve the world as much as the angels do, that the lilim are worthy of love. That everyone, really, is worthy of love (but they must begin with loving themselves, something which Kaworu does not master given the suicidal thoughts that would follow the angel to the grave and beyond).  When Kaworu recognises that the being is Lilith, rather than Adam, the epiphany brings with it the understanding that Kaworu may well cause another Impact in that moment. Instead, Kaworu gives Lilith and the lilim a blessing to inherit the Earth (Kaworu smiles at Rei and asks Shinji for death) and dies peacefully.

Kaworu’s identity does not revolve around Shinji. Kaworu learns through Shinji because Shinji happened to be there. Kaworu falls in love with Shinji and vice versa because they are there for one another; love is circumstance (by contrast, in the New Theatricals, Kaworu and Shinji are set up as star-crossed lovers, which completely nixes some of the major themes ofEvangelion with regards to finding happiness everywhere as long as you’re alive; you don’t need love to be happy, but dammit, what the fuck’s up with the soul mates?). In fact Kaworu makes a point of reaching out to others: to Rei, for example, to whom Kaworu imparts vital wisdom and with whom Kaworu makes that great realisation. In the original drafts, too, Kaworu interacted with others, notably Asuka and Misato, if I’m not mistaken. Point is that Kaworu is curious about the lilim in general, about the nature of humanity, and Kaworu spreads light even as the suicidal thoughts weigh the angel down.

In addition to the interest in others beyond Shinji (which solidifies Kaworu as a compassionate, intelligent, curious, caring individual rather than one obsessed with Shinji and Shinji alone) and the moral conflict between Kaworu’s children (the angels) and Lilith’s children (the lilim), not to mention the depressive/suicidal issues, Kaworu displays a remarkable level of internal understanding and of the ability to quickly take in and process information. Not only does Kaworu provide relevant information (such as revealing the whole Lilith thing to Rei or uncovering the truth of Shinji’s heart): Kaworu is equally capable of realising that Adam = Lilith and of switching plans on the spot after a brief meditation. Kaworu’s quick on the uptake, compassionate, and at the end of the day, legitimately cares for the well-being of life in the universe in general.

Wow. What a fuckin’ angel indeed.

Now contrast that with Qworu. Although Qworu might on the surface seem like the kinder individual, let’s take a deeper look. Right off the bat, there’s the whole soulmate thing that links Qworu and Shinji together no matter what. Quite the departure from the anime, where the point was that you could find happiness anywhere as long as you loved yourself, and if that happiness includes love, then you can find love as well (not that you will, but that love isn’t some perfect idealised magic thing as much as something of reality, as fallible as reality, which the characters must accept too).

Kaworu’s first line (or one of the first lines at any rate) is, “The Third, again?” The angel literally emerges from the coffin to remind the world that yes absolutely Kaworu is there for the Shinji and for the Shinji alone. Where the hell did the compassionate Christ-figure-like Kaworu who cared for everyone and all but the self go?

But fine. Perhaps the sequel/timeloop theorists are right, and Kaworu simply died thinking of Shinji. Let’s examine the rest of the actions.

In the New Theatricals, Kaworu arrived just after the end of 2.22 to cease the Third Impact and then spent the next fourteen years on the Earth.

Doing … what, exactly?

Play piano. And wait for Shinji. Fullstop.

What.

What?

Kaworu definitely wasn’t interacting with “Rei Q”/Kuronami (who isn’t Rei, having none of Rei’s soul, but I digress). Even though Kaworu had fourteen damn years, there was absolutely no attempt to interact with Q. Some speculate that Kaworu tried and got no headway, eventually giving up. But that’s bullshit: In a ten second conversation, Mari was able to completely turn Q’s worldview around. And Asuka snapping at Q to make independent decisions likewise shook Q from the stupor. Wow. Fucking incredible.

If Kaworu had spoken to Q over the course of fourteen years, Kaworu certainly would have been able to significantly help Q. It’s out of character for Kaworu not to care: Kaworu cared in the anime when Kaworu was barely there for twenty-four hours: Kaworu would definitely care over fourteen fucking years.

But fine. Let’s say that Q didn’t answer. Let’s say that Q was cloned only recently, as some other speculate. What about Gendo? It’s not as if NERV has a full personnel anymore, since we only really see Gendo, Fuyutsuki, Kaworu, and Q. We know that someone had to automate Mark.06. But we don’t know when or who. I would have expected Kaworu to monitor  the actions of Gendo, “the King of the Lilim”. Had Kaworu done so, Kaworu would surely have noticed the switching of the lances and so on. Which would have changed the course of the film. But no. Kaworu likewise appeared completely unaware of Shinji’s status as a F.A.R., since Kaworu put the DSS choker on (instead of using the angels powers that Kaworu clearly possessed to detonate the choker safely or to, I don’t know, fucking slap it on Gendo) and died to stop the Fourth Impact. But the Impact didn’t stop until the trigger (Shinji) was removed from Unit 13.

Yeah.

Thanks, Kaworu. Your sacrifice was entirely meaningless. In character, sure, but meaningless.

All of this is compounded by the fact that when Kaworu noticed the stuff about the lances, Kaworu did nothing. Kaworu sat there for fifteen minutesdoing fuck all while Shinji went ahead and shat on the world at large. You’d think that quick-on-the-uptake Kaworu would have understood and realised and done something to prevent Shinji’s actions or would have aided Shinji. Instead of sitting there for fifteen minutes brooding. That’s not Kaworu.

(And whatever happened to Kaworu’s conflict? What a flat character.)

And while anime Kaworu answered Shinji’s questions as was necessary (Shinji didn’t quite understand because of the whole filtration of reality thing, true, but Kaworu wasn’t spouting cryptic bullshit at such a large level), Qworu vomits a metric ton of cryptic shit onto Shinji about the First to Thirteen Angel and the lances and the blah blah fucking blah - oops, Kaworu just died. Rest in fucking pieces.

So to summarise, Qworu is ignorant, passive, flat, sans character development, no longer compassionate about the world at large, and doesn’t give a shit about anyone or anything except Shinji.

Hell, Qworu doesn’t even care about life anymore: Qworu intended to use the EVA to turn the world back for Shinji’s sake to what Shinji wanted. So much for the “you need to try new things” spiel. Fucking hell.

And the best part of all of this is that they took out the confessions anyway so good-bye revolutionary queers and hello gay rainbow horse subtext.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

do you think kaworu and rei could go back to having a physical form after EoE, or did they die when the giant lilith was killed?

I have to admit that I’ve been dreading answering this question ever since it popped into my inbox, but I’m glad that you asked. The immediate reaction is to say, “Of course they’ll come back! Of course! We need a happy ending!”

But the true answer? No. Not at all.

Explanation under the cut.

Keep reading

[ritsumaya2]

Add images!

Kaworu/Adam, the mother of the angels, and Rei/Lilith, the mother of the lilim, both necessarily represent mother figures in the course of Evangelion. And we can even broaden that out to be parental figures, figures which die and which must be given up.

After all, the thesis of Evangelion is the rejection of the mother and the escape from the filtered-reality womb of the EVA. One has to reject the mother, has to drift away from the mother, has to become one’s own person.

It’s why Gendo get tossed into the metaphorical dumpster:

He refused to let go of Yui, that perfect love interest, always framed in a delicate light (haha not really, but you can read my Yui analysis for that), and clearly representative of the mother. Gendo was willing to throw his own child under the bus, was willing to throw all of humanity and the angels under the bus, was willing to throw his life and happiness under the bus, all for Yui’s sake. Which isn’t how to live life. Don’t waste it on searching for what you perceive to be perfect paradise, because it doesn’t exist.

It’s the same thing with Rei and with Kaworu. Rei is linked to Yui by image and by mother-like significant to Shinji; ze dies because of the mother thing. After all, Rei, too, is akin to that perfect person by the end of the story, likewise offering all of humanity zir unconditional love, and keeping all of humanity in zir womb (the Black Moon; when the Black Moon is destroyed, it bleeds over Rei in a manner very reminiscent of a bloody birth). The perfect fantasy of Rei and Instrumentality must fall for humanity to be born in the true reality.

Kaworu is “the same as [Rei]”, the mother of the angels, and that perfect love interest who provides Shinji with unconditional love, a love which necessarily can’t exist. Shinji has to reject Kaworu, too, because such unconditional love can’t exist. (Which is not to say that Shinji has to reject a “boy” in favour of being HeteroStraight, given that Shinji rejects Rei too, and considering the Kaji thing: Shinji’s absolutely bi. The ace space antichrist’s unconditional love, however, can’t exist in reality.)

Bringing them back would break the thesis of rejecting the escapist paradise/death in favour of reality. Y’know?

Besides, on a practical level, Rei and Kaworu’s bodies weren’t “tanged” (turned into the orange LCL-ish stuff), so the chemical makeup of their bodies doesn’t exist within the LCL. And beyond that, Rei and Kaworu also sacrificed themselves to ensure that a war between the lilim and the angels would never again occur. If they were to return, they’d run the risk of Impacts and all of that nonsense happening all over again.

The short answer? No, they’re not coming out.

On the flipside, they could likely come back as merely regular lilim with all of the problems associated with regular lilim, and I enjoy seeing fanworks that handle this issue well (no more unconditional love and perfect love interest, ho!). But there’s little evidence of that within the actual text, because thematics.

This is why I’m terrified for 4.44, because I have a sinking feeling that Kaworu is going to end up perfectly alive and happy in it with Shinji, and as much as I would love for that to happen on a level of “Yeah queer kids! Yeah! Yeah!”, I fear that it’s going to rip apart the already fragile nature of the themes and theses that made Evangelion so incredible. Then again, the entirety of the New Theatricals is a massive pandering-slash-trolling masterpiece, so I don’t know what to expect from 4.44 at all, except more pandering/trolling. [huffs] [sighs]

[izukacchan]

alright after sitting here wanting to talk about it for a couple of minutes I want to talk about Rei

and why this one gif is sad as hell

Notice what’s in the water shadow’s? That’s the swing from the infamous sandbox scene in EoE

Read More

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

Hi! I love your analyses on Evangelion. Forgive me if I just skipped over it, but if you have not done so, would you mind explaining what the "Cruel Angel's Thesis" really is, in and of itself, if there is one? Would it be considered the conflict of the Angels vs. Lilin, maybe even something with Kaworu and Shinji's relationship, especially in Episode 24, etc? (I've yet to watch the Rebuilds, sorry if they answered this!) Also, would you ever think of analyzing the theme song itself?

Thank you so much! I’m glad that you’re enjoying my analyses. Ahh hm, well, I did write an entire analysis breaking down the main theses of Evangelion, but to recap:

We (humanity) filter reality in order to pick out whatever we want to see of our lives and of other people.

This makes us unwilling to see one another as they truly are and unwilling to allow others to see our true selves.

This isolates us and causes us to become depressed, seek validation from any source, and lash out at others, starting up a vicious cycle of false confidence followed by destruction, which can eventually lead to us hurting each other and ourselves to a point of death.

In order to break out of this cycle, you have to accept reality for what it is. You have to reject the mother (reject the safety of escapism and the womb of unconditional love and safety).

You have to learn to love yourself. And then you have to live life, understanding that you’ll be seeking happiness forever and that you’ll continue to hurt one another.

But if you love yourself and if you understand that the journey (life) is more important than the destination (happiness, which isn’t guaranteed), then you will most likely learn to love others and one day attain True Happiness in the Real World instead of false validation and isolated escapism.

Don’t die. Live. And love yourself. The true you, not any kind of false you, but the you that you are. And then make yourself better, loving yourself.

That’s it. That's Evangelion. The other things that you mentioned (Kaworu and Shinji’s relationships, the conflict between the angels and the lilim, etc.) are all parts that somehow figure into the larger thesis of rejecting escapsim/suicide and loving yourself.

And the New Theatricals don’t actually answer, ahem, much of anything. Actually, the themes of Evangelion kind of left the building as of the Rebuilds. That might change come 4.44, so I’m going to reserve judgment until then.

if you’re asking about the theme song, then, as a matter of fact I could analyse it to show you how the thesis that I summarised above is actually written all over the lyrics! I’ve been searching for a good English and/or Russian translation of the original Japanese, though, and so far I haven’t been able to find an accurate translation. I have a translatorfriend who might be willing to help (faun has translated “Thanatos” for me and I still need to wrap up and post my analysis of that).

[sailorsanghelios]

I want to see people defending Asuka on my dash, the same way they defend Shinji.

She literally has just as much hurt and depression and anxiety in her life, she saw her mother die too, she had her father abandon her too, and she didn’t even get invited back by him to pilot a robot, like with Shinji and Gendo.

But while I see all kinds of posts about Shinji I’ve seen so little for her. Yes she’s cruel to so many people, but everyone is able to blissfully ignore Shinji’s faults.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

#but like#mostly everyone LOVES asuka#what defending does she need??#shinji gets hate for crying and not doing things that hurt him#yes he’s a little shit#but so is asuka and yet everybody loves her so what does she need people to defend her??#i never see any hate for her like for reals#and if people dont defend her its probably cause they dont care???#idk but like really i dont think she needs defending#no one hates on her???#i mean i dont like her but i also dont hate her??#its like i love her but i also dont you see the problem?#but yeah anyways thats just my opinion#also no one knows whats up with her dad so???#atleast not that i know of

(I’m not including your name because I’d rather not draw unnecessary attention to you.)

People do not love Asuka. Perhaps you survive in a small microcosm of tumblr wherein everyone loves and fiercely defends female characters, but from what I’ve seen in my forays throughout the greater Evangelion fandom, people usually respond to Asuka in two different ways.

They sexualise the everloving fuck out of her (which is probably where you’re getting the “everyone loves her!” bit. No, they don’t love her. They think she’s hot, the way that most men treat female characters, which is a far cry from defending Asuka and actually understanding her).

They call her a b*tch

In the most popular works/depictions of Asuka, she’s reduced to a generic tsundere waifu who longs for Shinji’s dickari (I’m looking at you, ReTake, but also at the general trend). In other depictions, she’s typically villainised, particularly in kawo/shin works and doujin, if she’s present or relevant at all.

I agree that Shinji needs defending, but holy hell, I’ve seen people make Shinji out to be some kind of defenceless angel. Just like Asuka, he’s done some shit. Both he and Asuka are in the position of the abuser and in the position of the abused, as most people in reality are. Simplifying Shinji into a truly wide-eyed innocent naive kid who has never done anything and simplifying Asuka into a not-really-abrasive kid who doesn’t have severe issues in of herself is fucking bullshit (thanks, Rebuild of Evangelion).

I’ve seen so much defence of Shinji. I’ve seen people defending Shinji for choking Asuka (because she was being a b*tch to him! It’s not as if she was, you know, rightfully calling him out on his bullshit behaviour) and defending Shinji for sexualising Rei, Asuka, and Misato and being angry at them that they’re “keeping things ambiguous behind smiles”(because he’s “just a normal kid” or, worse yet, because he’s “gay and boo hoo my gay angel couldn’t possibly do anything”). And so on and so forth.

What happens with Shinji is that people tend to defend him for the misogynistic shit and then trash him for the depression/mental illness shit. Well, guess what? Asuka is also depressed and suffers from mental illness. But just like how tumblr is quick to defend depression and anxiety whilst being extremely ableist to the “Bad Cr*zies”, people defend Shinji for his quiet depression and avoidant personaity disorder and anxiety issues even as they laugh at and bash Asuka for being unable to handle Arael or desiring recognition or having a breakdown about not being number one or wanting Kaji’s attention or, you know, all of her histrionic personality disorder.

Fuckin’ hell, even in the 90s, before the internet was really a thing, there was a website called the “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Shinji Ikari” or something like that where the entire fucking website was run by Evangelion fans who would write novels defending Shinji without ever once considering Asuka. One of the most common defences of Shinji was that it didn’t matter what he did to Asuka because Asuka had been a b*tch to him. Did you know that at one showing of End of Evangelion people started clapping - fucking clapping - when Shinji choked Asuka? Hmm? I wonder why.

I understand if you dislike Asuka because she has legitimately done Some Stuff. But in the same vein you should dislike Shinji. After all, the Evangelion characters weren’t designed to be likeable. What grinds me down is that if Asuka were male, then you know for a fact that “he” would be a fan favourite and everyone would defend “him” for being a douchebag because “no his mother is dead and he’s just poor and misunderstood!”

But they don’t. They either destroy her by turning her into a sextoy or they call her out on being abusive even whilst they turn around and praise Shinji to hell and back. Maybe you haven’t seen the Asuka hate, but I have, first-hand, and it is horrendous.

I’m glad that you’ve been sheltered from the Asuka hate, but no, Asuka (and Rei, and Misato) need so much more defence. Does Shinji need defence? Sure. But I haven’t actually seen someone unironically call Shinji whiny or a crybaby or any of that shit in years. You know what I have seen, even on fucking tumblr dot com?

Yeah. Exactly. Don’t even get me started on /a/. Here, have some fucking analysis.

[ritsumaya-deactivated20160612]

Also the thing with her dad? Are you serious? Her dad abandoned her mother after her mother went insane due to the Contact Experiments and had an affair with her mother's doctor, whom he later married (which was heavily implied in the anime and fucking confirmed in interviews and supplementary material).

Why the fuck do you think that Asuka literally says

when she’s running back to inform her mother that she’s been selected to be a pilot (oh, yeah, because at such a young age she was already fucking terrified about failure and having to provide with her family while Shinji was off having a normal life, which he describes as content, with his teacher) only to discover her mother's freshly dead body awaiting her at home?

Asuka then essentially had to forge out on her own because her father barely took care of her beyond the superficial and Asuka clearly never forgave him for abandoning herself and her mother. By contrast Shinji “witnessed” his mother’s death but not in the bloody, traumatic, “have fun cleaning up your mother’s dead body” kind of way and seems to barely remember the death, whereas Asuka recalls the funeral sharply enough that she had to repress the memories deep down and still they emerge to cut into her. Shinji spent the next decade living a peaceful life as Asuka battled to be the best of the best to become a pilot, because that’s all she’s ever been of worth to anyone.

Asuka’s perfectly right in her complaint that Shinji and Rei simply got in because Gendo wanted them to. By contrast, Asuka earned her way in over her entire life, struggling and forcing herself to succeed, and placing her entire worth on being number fucking one. Do you know the stress that that places on people? 

Shinji’s traumatic past is far less traumatic than Asuka’s. [mic drop] [exits stage left, pursued by bear]