Remember this jarring cut? This is such a bizarre, unnatural perspective to emphasize what looks on its face so painfully benign: Ritsuko leaving a bar. I always wondered if the ice was supposed to resemble floating icebergs; it was only until someone else confessed to having the same thought that I realized that this frame may hope to emphasize more than Ritsuko’s absence. Ritsuko is leaving Misato alone with Kaji, a man who reminds Misato of her father. Their resemblance invokes the terrifying source of trauma Misato must constantly revisit throughout the series. The source of which traces its roots to Antarctica. 

I always dismissed this cut as accidental, and unfortunate. Now, I’m not so sure.

recurring visual imagery: coming to + coreferent
neon genesis evangelion, dir. hideaki anno (1995)
*note the placement of the blood/gauze on misato’s cheek.

re: gendo ikari, and how gendo as a character is talked about within the fandom and the selective attention/dissonance that’s implicit in the framing of him solely as “The Bad Dad™”

when i think of gendo, i don’t necessarily zero in on his shitty parenting, because that’s basically a given for any parent in eva ever. i think of his using women – orienting women so that they directly (rei, naoko, ritsuko) or indirectly (misato, asuka) further his goals. obviously yui (and rei iii, since she’s ‘half’ yui) beatifically trumps his ace in eoe, but for the most part, he exercised unlimited amounts of emotional, physical, and psychological control on rei i+ii (and the whole thing is excruciatingly uncomfortable and suggestive in its visual language - something that i hardly, if ever, see people talk about); he used naoko/ritsuko for their minds and their bodies; it’s suggested that he deliberately capitalized on misato’s righteous anger by allowing her access into the paramilitary+gehrin, and what would later become nerv. remember when fumihiko tachiki said that gendo embodies the central core of evangelion, in that everyone’s moving around him while he stays still? passive, atypical control – even his relationship with shinji is unassertively neglectful. gendo doesn’t need to do anything because he’s relying on what’s dubbed ‘divine feminine energy’ (ultimately realized in lilith, his secret ace in the hole) to do his bidding for him.

i’m not very interested in gendo commentary/analysis/etc that acts like his neglectful parenting is the main cornerstone of his character, especially since that doesn’t uniquely differentiate him as a character from dr. katsuragi, naoko akagi, asuka’s father, etc. gendo being a terribad father isn’t the point – gendo is more so an expression of insidious power, masculinity, and immortality. and i think people stress on his parenting because shinji is the main character, and by being constantly privy to shinji’s adolescent frustrations and anxieties it’s harder to see how shinji and gendo are so fundamentally alike – more than anyone is willing or ready to admit. because what does shinji end up doing with his adolescent frustrations and anxieties? he takes them out on asuka, rei, and misato. the “gendo as the nondescript, one-note evil mastermind dad and shinji as the flawless cinnamon roll we must protect at all costs” is so hilariously ironic for that reason.

This scene is pretty amazing. We know that a huge part of Misato’s inner turmoil is that she cannot face against her father’s killers head on – instead, she must exact her revenge on the Angels vicariously through Shinji, Asuka, and Rei. But in this one moment, framed in such a way that disturbs our sense of magnitude, Misato is forced into lethal proximity with what she hates the most and stares it down anyway. She doesn’t run like the others. Notice that grip on her cross – subconsciously protecting her father’s memory, his only essence, over her own life. In the tradition of ars moriendi, to die a good death is to die as you’ve lived: face death with resolution and maintain your deeply held convictions till the end. Shinji comes swooping in to fend off The End at the very last second, but it’s a good reminder that for Misato, killing Angels isn’t about saving lives or protecting the world - it’s personal. Not so noble – Evangelion being the kind of show that it is – but it is compelling. 

kaatsuragi:

’ sᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ᴅᴀʀʟɪɴɢ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ғʀᴏᴍ ᴍʏ ᴋɪɴɢᴅᴏᴍ.  ’

CROSSES IN ANTARCTICA. ( listen )
words unspoken, exchanged between a stranded daughter and her estranged father’s ghost on the night of the second apocalypse. dark, lonely melodies as misato floats out to sea. katsuragi family centric mired with a heavy industrial influence.

it crushes my spirit that the adults of evangelion aren’t talked about more. especially misato; she’s intended to be the secondary protagonist yet is talked of as though she were a supporting character, a sidekick, or a deuteragonist - forever doomed to be a talking point to the extent that her actions motivate shinji’s personal growth

whatever it is that makes evangelion good, misato, ritsuko, kaji, yui, fuyutsuki, and gendo are just as emblematic as the pilot kids. all of these characters have compelling and interesting stories of their own. but there’s nary a whisper when the adults get misinterpreted among casual and serious fans alike; the show goes to great lengths to debunk a lot of popular fandom interpretations that persist to this day (for example, think about how many people assume misato is a slut with a high “body count” when the show explicitly mentions her only having been with one man)

if you’re watching nge, focus on the eva adults! their backstories, their motivations, the parts of themselves they keep hidden or concealed. there’s plenty to learn and love by watching misato, ritsuko, and kaji’s old friendship that you can’t get by watching shinji, asuka, and rei interact with each other. you’re missing out, otherwise