What are everyone's thoughts, feelings, opinions about both the old and new Evangelion series?

4.0 SPOILERS

I thought the rebuild ending was more depressing than EoE, partly because when given the power to create LITERALLY ANYTHING, Shinji goes ahead and creates a copy of THIS WORLD (evidenced by the use of a live action shot in the end), where he will live as a capitalist salaryman with his literal waifu.

At least in EoE everyone could choose to come out of instrumentality by themselves to create a new world, thus leaving everything ambiguous.

Pure ideology, Mark Fisher is vindicated yet again.

They also couldn't go 5 MINUTES without showing some 14 year old girl ass....

  • SuperNovaCouchGuy [any]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Yeah one thing that sucks was how Rei was kind of neglected wrt. Shinji and Asuka in the originals. I could also never understand Rei as a character to the same degree as Misato, Asuka, and Shinji. If you don't mind sharing, what is the deal with Rei?

    • AcidSmiley [she/her]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Rei is ... basically Gendo's first victim. Cloned over and over again as part of Gendo's plan, reduced to an empty husk. There's this scene in Rebuild were she says she's vegetarian - i think it's not meant literally, but that she simply doesn't eat at all except for pills (see the fact that she only takes the tiniest sip from the miso soup Shinji offers her - could ofc be because the broth isn't veggie, but i think it's meant to imply that she doesn't require food and isn't used to consuming it). All she does is sit in her dark, empty apartment, take her medication and do what she's supposed to do. She's not even depressed like Shinji, she is completeley depersonalized. She is nobody. Just a cog in the machine that literally gets replaced when it gets broken.

      And then she gets to learn what it's like to be human, to connect to people, to lead a good, non-alienating life when she's working in the rice fields to provide for the community. And she takes that opportunity without hesitation, in the sweetest, kindest way possible. In spite of being a complete stranger to life outside of NERV, she's never scared or confused by all these things she doesn't know. Completely unlike Shinji and Asuka, who constantly push people away either by retreating or by aggressing. It's as if Rei's got this talent for caring and nurturing that the other pilots lack completely. That she's more capable of building a meaningful connection to others in spite of having zero learned social skills.

      Which, now that i think about it, may be kinda problematic, as she's a clone of Shinji's mother and in spite of never having been a mother herself, that automatically makes her the archetypal mother (see her deep curiosity about the gravid cat that lives under the train waggon). As if even a clone of his mother has no defining characteristics besides being maternal.

      • camaron28 [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Kunihiko Ikuhara said that if he had made the show he would have ended it with Shinji and Rei meeting after a long time and Rei being pregnant from some guy. Symbolyzing her having managed to escape from her life at NERV and finding happines and connections outside.

        It would also be a perfect "fuck you" to all the otakus who don't engage with the themes of the show and treat her as their waifu (a doll).

      • barrbaric [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Re: Rei not eating, this would be supported by Asuka not being able to eat/only needing water in 4.0 (and I think 3.0).

      • SuperNovaCouchGuy [any]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Fundamentally, Rei is the critique of the docile obedient waifu.

        Not really because I don't see how anyone in their right minds (even fucking weebs) would want to have some unemotional clone as their waifu. Even back in secondary education my friends and I all liked either Misato or Asuka.

        The culmination of each character’s story in 3.0+1.0 directly addressed their core conflict.

        Not at all. Asuka is literally just shown realizing self-compassion in this bullshit montage, the "original" Rei just up and leaves with barely any explanation or time devoted to why and the Rei clone which got fanta'ed early learned humanity from the ricefields without any substantive continuity. Shinji's core conflict at the end of the day was the same as Asuka's. Each of them hated themselves, and could not connect due to the "ugly" reflection they saw within each other. Shinji runs away because who the fuck wouldn't run away if they had a psycho-ass dad who sends you out to fight monsters that have more firepower than a nuclear bomb? In the originals, Shinji connects with each human on a fundamental level due to instrumentality, and thus is able to connect his own struggles with those of everyone elses. As a result, he gains self-compassion and ends instrumentality, having each person decide for themselves if they want to come back or not. Yet he is still fucked up due to all the horrifying shit he want through, which is why he strangles Asuka on the beach when he realizes she knows everything about him due to instrumentality. This makes much more sense than whatever didactic asspull ending rebuild 4.0 tried.

          • SuperNovaCouchGuy [any]
            ·
            3 years ago

            people who are afraid to talk to girls and fantasize about meek (or young) women who are pathologically nonthreatening empty vessels are widespread and have been for a long time.

            If this is actually true to the point of it inspiring a character in one of the most popular anime franchises ever, this is fucked. Holy shit I thought incels were only a recent phenomenon.

            you’re approaching the text with your own biases instead of attempting to understand the biases and motives of the creators,

            The fact that I was unaware of Rei's symbolism is not enough evidence to make this sweeping claim unfortunately.

            whose statements refute your points, and whose cultural contexts differ from your own

            Interesting, which statements refute which of my points so thoroughly? Its also very hilarious to assume I do not share cultural context with the creators of Evangelion.

              • SuperNovaCouchGuy [any]
                ·
                3 years ago

                you missed an entire, massive, deeply unsubtle pillar of the show’s social commentary that has dominated online discussion

                Again, which one? Just because I have a different opinion doesn't mean its automatically wrong lmao

                I think there are plenty of sweeping claims about your biases and shared cultural contexts or lack thereof to be made here

                Such as?

        • barrbaric [he/him]
          ·
          3 years ago

          To your first point, Rei is/was HUGE in Japan, less so outside of it.