qmisato

Ritsuko/Maya is canon in the Rebuilds.

No, seriously. Maya’s unrequited crush on Ritsuko in Neon Genesis Evangelion isn’t up for debate, but what many people miss is that Anno’s secretly upgraded their relationship in Rebuild. (This isn’t the first time a canon gay NGE relationship has seen an upgrade in the movies. See: Kawoshin.) The clues are buried throughout, and Anno’s left us to unearth them.

There’s this super interesting article that provides very compelling explanations for some of the visual/thematic clues present (shortchanging Ritsuko’s black and white cat trinkets for two black ones, by way of example) that clarify a secret canon relationship between the two.

If you can’t get Google Translate to work its magic on the article, a sufficient English translation is available under the cut:

The relationship between Maya and Ritsuko is widely recognized and acknowledged by all fans (except for those people who, for suspicious reasons, insist on coupling the hapless worker with her colleague Aoba). But did you notice that the two have an actual affair going on in the Rebuild series?

Yes, at first glance, this may seem like a far-fetched idea - but only at first glance.

A MOLE IN THE ROAD OF HER TEARS

In NGE, Maya’s love for her senpai bordered on veneration, but it was sadly never destined to be reciprocated. Only in EoE, for a fleeting moment, Maya got the chance to embrace the object of her desire (or, rather, Maya embraced Lilith who has taken the form of her desire) before dissolving in an explosion of tang.

Ritsuko follows in the footsteps of her belovedly hated mother by entering into a self-destructive relationship with Gendo Ikari, a man whose lack of warmth is perhaps comparable to that of a ficus plant. Gendo is unable to show love to his only son, so we can only imagine how much passion can be reserved for a woman he sleeps with for the sake of convenience - and not too soon after, with recriminations from Ritsuko herself.

In Episode 9, Kaji, Ritsuko’s old friend of many years, greets her (with an elegant remark about her weight) by talking about a series of allegations about her love life that soon proves to be totally spot on. Moreover, it is very likely that knowing Kaji, and seeing the kind of the work he does, Ritsuko knew that Kaji knew about her whole Gendo affair.

KAJI: You lost weight, right?
RITSUKO: You think so?
KAJI: You must be enduring an unrequited love.
RITSUKO: And how would you know that?
KAJI: Because… “a woman with a mole in the pathway of her tears is destined to a life full of them.”

The same scene is repeated in Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, but with surprising, necessary changes: there is no mention of an unhappy love or tears whatsoever.

In Rebuild, there is no trace of a romantic relationship between Ritsuko and Gendo. Not even a tiny hint. In one of the deleted scenes off of 2:22, Ritsuko even recommends Rei go shopping for underwear - no jealous animosity on her side.

It almost seems like, with all the martyrdom she suffered in the original series, Ritsuko has earned her right to a happier life. Maybe alongside someone who appreciates her love unconditionally. And it just so happens that we know just the one person who’d suit her…

RITSUKO IS GREASED

In 2.22, Kaji, the usual gentleman, says he thinks Ritsuko has some lost weight. And Ritsuko, imperturbable as ever, replies she actually gained weight instead.

KAJI: You look like you lost a bit of weight, Rit-chan.
RITSUKO: Actually, I gained 1570 grams.

At first glance, this scene may seem silly – irrelevant even – when inserted at a crucial time for meaningful dialogue. But this is everything but meaningless; the fact that Rebuild!Ritsuko is slightly fatter is a clear clue implying her happier, fulfilling romantic pursuit.

This theme of “food makes one whole” is by no means alien to the world of Evangelion, tracing all the way back to the original series (think about Ritsuko and her caffeine addiction). Food is very important in Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance – especially the act of sharing food with others, which is a central motif in the movie.

Examples abound: the failure to organize a dinner party by Rei - which should have led to the reconciliation between Shinji and Gendo; Asuka’s improvised cooking attempt; Shinji from Good Housekeeping distributing lunch boxes to all (with lovely sausage-shaped baby octopi); the list goes on and on.

The dialogue that takes place between Rei and Gendo, as it happens during lunch, highlights this well - food, if shared with the people we love, can become a means to convey our affection, and the act of eating together has tremendous power of aggregation.

Hideaki Anno has always had a troubled relationship with food (in elementary school, Japanese TV says, the only part of his meal that wasn’t discarded was the milk carton), and the central theme in 2:22 goes hand in hand with the acceptance, on the part of Anno, of The Meal as source of love and pleasure.

In light of this, going back to Ritsuko and her extra pounds, we’d like to think that they are extra pounds of love. Who knows, maybe in her spare time, Ritsuko and Maya enjoy themselves in a romantic dinner by candlelight. Would it not be adorable?

THE CATS

As everyone already knows, Ritsuko is the ‘crazy cat lady’ - in fact, in hindsight, you’d wonder what fate is preferable - getting eaten alive by your cats in a piss-stained apartment, or spending your life trying to be loved by Gendo Ikari?

From time to time, NGE shows us a few snapshots of her cat trinkets (if you really want to suffer, call back to that scene in EoE where Maya cuddles an adorable pink cushion with a kitten belonging to her senpai.)

You may remember these little ones: two cat statuettes, one white and one black. They pop up on Ritsuko’s desk in Episode 23, while their owner is intent on observing a photo that captures a younger version of Ritsuko with Gendo.

The metaphor – and we’ll note one at all costs – is easy to see: black and white, yin and yang, man and woman, blah blah blah.

This hobby of Ritsuko’s survives even in Rebuild, so much so that when Kaji goes to visit Ritsuko’s office we run into these little masterpieces again:

While in NGE, these cats were devoid of characteristics that denote sex beyond their color conventions, in Rebuild there was an effort made to highlight that the cats are two females: two black cats wearing pearl necklaces. They are also perfectly identical in all respects. Why would Ritsuko have two copies of the same thing? A little unusual, right?

Maybe, just maybe, the writers are actually trying to tell us something.

MAYA, TALKING WITH TOO MUCH CONFIDENCE

Called together to discuss Eva-04 incident, the staff of NERV sit in a dimly lit room around a table light that makes them look way more serious and professional than they actually are (really, we’re only talking about Misato here).

This is where Maya, parked right beside Ritsuko as usual, gets carried away with a comment like this:

MAYA: Unit 04 was–
[ MAYA STOPS HERSELF AND LOOKS AT RITSUKO ]
RITSUKO: –Eva-04 was an experimental model with new internals that would solve the problem of operating time. So they say.
MAYA: The information on the North American development models are not fully accessible, even for Akagi senpai.

Oops! Maya, Maya, Maya. Without realizing it, she was revealing classified info.

Of course, being Ritsuko’s assistant, Maya can not afford to bypass protocol and speak on her behalf, so it makes you wonder how she jumped into the conversation to speak with such confidence to begin with. Is it possible that Maya feels so at ease in Ritsuko’s company that she forgets protocol? The answer, of course, is yes, there’s something more there than a mere professional relationship.

Throughout the course of the entire film, Ritsuko and Maya always appear next to one another. It’s a little suspicious. But aren’t they cute?

AAA WUNDER: THE LESBIAN LOVE BOAT

By the time the MAGI unanimously expressed its favorable opinion about RitsuMaya in EoE, Evangelion 3.33 was still very far away. Now that the film is out and we’ve all seen it, new important pieces can be included in evidence.

The first is Ritsuko’s new haircut. Everyone knows that these generalizing stereotypes are typically tactless, but come on. You’d be lying to say that Ritsuko’s new look doesn’t scream lesbian.

Anyway, we love Ritsuko’s new pixie cut, and we don’t doubt Maya appreciates it too.

Now we come to Maya. She’s not a bridge bunny anymore - seeming to have embarked on a military career akin to that Major or Colonel. This scene only lasts for just a few seconds but – in spite of her friendly expression in the Q filmbook – Maya looks like she could kick the asses of a whole squadron of men.

What’s more, she has a sour comment to herself about not being able to stand younger men. No, Maya, you can’t stand any man.