I was watching the reboot of Space Battleship Yamato (noted 70s sci-fi anime) and noticed that Q!Misato is very much a direct homage to Captain Juzo Okita. Impressive, but not at all surprising – particularly since Yamato was Anno’s favorite anime growing up.
“rei or asuka?” really baffles me because they’re presented as inverse contrasts in the show, and you can’t really derive any concrete analysis or understanding of their characters by taking them in separately. you have to examine them together through a comparative lens – their backstories, how they view themselves, their respective methods of coping/internalizing neglect and validation (or lack thereof). this goes for literally every single character in evangelion, but rei and asuka are most prolific for the grossest and most nauseating reasons.
when people say they like asuka more than rei for “x” reasons or visa versa, to me that’s just another gauge of how badly they missed the point.
Anonymous
I have gotten the impression that you really like Mari Makinami. Could you explain why? Because she was introduced so late in the game, her character design (personality wise) and position in the anime has always seemed a little rushed to me.
Introduced “late in the game,” with actual motives and alignment shrouded in mystery, and serves a major role as a foil/object of interest for another character…
Maybe you already see what I’m getting at here.
I don’t really understand the disregard for Mari from the perspective you just outlined, because it also describes Kaworu. Why isn’t he similarly written off by the fanbase?
Mari may be new, and we may not understand that much about her, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a valuable and thought-out addition to the series. We have very little idea what she’s up to, but I wouldn’t confuse that with poor development; I’d argue that she has a very distinct personality and one that suggests real depth, the same way Kaworu’s speech and behavior — though we get comparatively little of it — implies as much complexity. Hideaki Anno may be wacky, and he is definitely reticent, but rushed he is not. Quite the opposite. I think he enjoys taking his sweet ass time.
I am a fan of Mari because she is passionate, funny, irreverent, and quirky. She’s possibly the only character that can go toe-to-toe with Asuka in a way that she actually respects. In fact, I see her relationship with Asuka as comparable to Shinji’s relationship with Kaworu. I’m biased as a hardcore Asuka/Mari shipper, but I’m very happy about their dynamic thus far, and excited to see where it goes.
I honestly think some Eva fans are disappointed by Rebuild’s direction come the end of 2.0/3.0 and are simply misdirecting those feelings at the glaring bit of novelty, which is Mari Makinami. I urge you to give her a chance. At least until 3.0+1.0.
All the more reason to change the situation and quash all anxieties of the future.
ᴛɪᴍᴇʟɪɴᴇ ᴏғ ᴇᴠᴀɴɢᴇʟɪᴏɴ: ᴡᴇᴇᴋ ʙʏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋᴅᴏᴡɴ
You may or may not know that Neon Genesis Evangelion takes place between July 6th, 2015 to January 1st, 2016. Here’s an exhaustive breakdown of the exact dates of events, using the times provided by the show and per character dialogue. Some noteworthy finds:
- Kaworu met Shinji on Christmas Eve, and died on Christmas Day.
- The median amount of time between angel attacks is 11 days.
- Toji lost his left leg on Halloween.
- Kaji died a day before Misato’s 30th birthday.
- Shinji is “birthed” from Unit-01 a day after Asuka’s 14th birthday.
- The first half of End of Evangelion takes place on Toji’s 15th birthday, one day after Kaworu’s death.
- And more!
The general skeleton for the first few months was graciously compiled here. Note that in Japan, schools are in session (half-days) on Saturdays.
