#and if he directly asked asuka r would probably just tell

[lokh]

are shippers at least making a distinction between asuka and asuka r#

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: Batman Arkham Scenario

I suppose to wrap things up about who's able to face the Combat and Predator (Stealth) Maps.

Jack-O', Haehyun, Answer, Nagoriyuki, Giovanna, Goldlewis, Chaos, Bedman? and Asuka/Asuka#.

Guest appearances by Chimaki, Fanny, Leopladdon and Judgement.

Jack-O' plays similarly to Harley Quinn, actually... i.e. she sets traps for targets (her servants do the work, basically). She's very acrobatic, so combat's not a big deal to her, she was forced to learn stealth from Asuka to keep herself hidden from the Merciless Apocalypse early on.

(Side note: Aria Hale is nothing like Jack-O'... she had a high intellect but it was not based on Computer A.I., and her physical capabilities were very limited... she was just an ordinary lab geek when she dated Frederick.)

Kum Haehyun is very combat-oriented due to family techniques, but Kum's pride as a Tuner gets in the way of "stealth" so she's not suited for it. She's better off as a Doctor/Healer like she currently operates as. She'd rival Batman in terms of medical techniques (Bruce Wayne's father was a surgeon by the way... probably not as good as Faust was, but still...)

Answer is a Ninja, so Stealth is a given, he's not AS gifted as Chipp is in the combat talents, but he's been training, so maybe one day he'll catch up. He spends a lot of time on the phone though, so not much time for heroics unless Chipp calls in a favor.

Nagoriyuki was buried under a BUILDING for 60 years, that's pretty stealthy if you ask me! Aside that, his combat abilities are second to almost none save Sol. In terms of stealth technique he's a Vampire, so his potential is probably very high... but his pride as a samurai probably prevents him from taking underhanded "stealthy" measures... so I'd assume he prefers to confront people directly.

Giovanna works for the United States Secret Service... that's pretty stealthy work in and of itself, though she much prefers to relax on the job, she's still a professional in both combat and stealth.

Goldlewis: his background is VERY STEALTHY, but he won't tell you anything even if you ask. The guy is all about black ops, despite his rotund size. Combat wise, it's easy to see why he's the SECRETARY OF ABSOLUTE DEFENSE.

Happy Chaos: Stealth and magic are his fortes, though originally he knew next to NOTHING ABOUT COMBAT... he basically used the Backyard to download the knowledge in to his brain and learn from there. He isn't really a fighter, but his skill with a gun will make people hesitate to draw. Whoah... he knows Gun-Fu!

Bedman? The 8th Generation High Density Bedframe was built with Romeo's specs (and powers) in mind, so being a combat machine that can fight Gears (and even Vampires) seems to be part of what it was built for... in terms of Magic potential it can only do a limited amount of things via Bedman's influence, otherwise it's a hunk of junk without that Magic power driving it. The fact it's heavily damaged means things like combat and stealth are very limited for it.

The only reason the Bedframe is still decent at combat is because of its drive to protect Delilah. By the way, Delilah is very good at Stealth and Magic power, but combat is something she's still scared of, being 12 years old isn't easy.

Asuka # "Sharp" Being a "combat clone" of Asuka Kreutz, you'd think combat would be second nature to him, but you'd be incorrect... neither Asuka or Asuka #R are very good at physical combat... in fact they BOTH get tired very easily!

The fact Asuka R. Kreutz is also over 170+ years old with a body that got reduced to the youth of a child for a few months means he's not really built for physical activity in the first place. Of course, he probably still needs the exercise.

In terms of Stealth, all Asuka would need to do would be to cast Invisibility and that'd be the end of that. His Magic makes everything ELSE look very easy. Asuka Sharp is no exception either.

Still, between the two of them, I wouldn't expect either of them to play vigilante any time soon... they're better off sticking to Science.

Switching Gears... Fanny was an old assistant to Dr. Faust a great many years back and was still searching for him last we saw in GG Petit. She's a sweet young girl, stealth and combat really isn't her thing, though she probably has techniques to keep up with Faust at least.

She inherited her giant Needle weapon from her mother, who was also a Nurse years ago.

Raymond (Judgement) was originally a Scientist who worked for the P.W.A.B. and Sacred Order, so combat was something he observed on the daily, but this also made him deranged.

He later took his research to Isene Island and did diabolical experiments there to the poor residents, so despite becoming a cool-looking character, his morality is really suspect.

He also died not long after due to his miscalculation on Inus' powers as a Demihuman (Underworld King).

If he'd managed to survive though, Combat would come very easily for him, but I doubt he'd be all that interested in Stealth as a concept.

Moving on, LEOPALDON:

A large Megadeth Class Gear who "hides" in the Antarctic continent. That's pretty stealthy despite their size.

Leopaldon used to rescue humans who got stranded in Snow Storms on the continent, and it's semi-unclear if the P.W.A.B. even knew he existed or not.

Sol apparently met him once, but that's all we know, honest!

Sentient Gears aren't exactly geared for combat, as they are pacifists in nature (despite being built as weapons, they dislike being treated like weapons).

Still, make no mistake: LEOPALDON IS A MEGADETH GEAR.

That means Leopaldon's combat potential is immense, enough to level a city in minutes if not seconds. Somehow a group of thugs surrounding Leopaldon would be the height of folly.

Leopaldon does his best not to get noticed by humans, so he's gotten pretty good at stealth, but it might be only a matter of time before he gets fully discovered... maybe Ky can help him out one day?

Lastly, CHIMAKI:

A prideful Mononofu Samurai if ever there was one.

His sword is nothing to laugh at.

But, in terms of tactics or stealth... or even thinking...

Well... don't expect much.

Don't mess with Chimaki's topknot and you'll be just fine. He'll leave you alone in peace.

Unless you offer onigiri... then he may follow you home.

[antoine-roquentin]

The magical power of “You’re fine just the way you are”

I have been asked directly by a few people before now if I was the model for Kaworu. Where did that information come from? I was completely uninvolved [in Kaworu’s creation] as one of the principals. Kaworu is very good-looking, so if I said I was his model I imagine I would recieve complaints from his fans.

However, it’s not the case that I have no idea at all [what the speculation might refer to]. During the period when Evangelion was still in its preparatory stages, I was in very close contact with Anno-san. At that time, the staff of Sailor Moon went on a company trip to an onsen, and Anno-san was also among our members. [1] The two of us ended up talking the whole night. Even after everyone else had collapsed we went on and on, drinking sake and talking, sitting side by side in an open air bath and talking.

So, I think the conversation we had that night had perhaps the same flavor as the exchange between Kaworu and Shinji. I also felt this way when I saw episode 24 for myself. Well, the situation with the bath was the same; that’s easy enough to understand.

But, it seems there are rumors – I’m not really sure – that the line of dialogue, “You are worthy of love,” was something I said to Anno-san, and so on (laughs). I don’t think it was a case where I was Kaworu and Anno-san was Shinji. Only, if I had to say which [is which], Anno-san seems to say more Kaworu-esque cynical things, right?

So, I remember telling [Anno] a story about the time of my adolescence. When I was 14 or 15 years old, I was truly in despair, thinking my life prospects were very bleak. With tests and such things, I had the feeling that I was not permitted even a slight failure. Today it seems like even failures receive attention, or that there is freedom to be “dame,” but at that time it seemed that you would have no future after failing even once. Up until the 70s there was the anpo toso [2], but when that ended, an atmosphere – “ah, as we suspected, you can’t revolutionize the world” – began to spread.

So, I thought that I would be dead before I was twenty years old, and any life I lived beyond that would be a kind of omake – that was the story I told [to Anno]. Probably, just the fact that I was able to tell that story was of value to both of us.

Beyond that, Anno-san loved Sailor Moon and told me he wanted to make a similarly enjoyable work. [3] I wonder if an aftershock had occured when this consciousness that was moving towards the pursuit of realism – a science fiction-like world setting, the details of machines, and so on – came into contact with a work like Sailor Moon.

Maybe that was a period where something like the pleasure of an ordinarily enjoyable anime seemed novel to Anno-san. My own impression of Anno-san is a feeling like he’s not human. He’s big, hunches over, and seems to resemble an Evangelion. [For example,] often he’s had a utility knife, and cried out “Yah!” as he slid the blade out (laughs).

He’s ordered to come back by his father, he’s slapped by Ayanami, he’s called stupid by Asuka, he’s yelled at to straighten up by Misato… Shinji doesn’t recieve much affirmation from others. I think, in this situation, the only one who tells him that he’s fine just the way he is is Kaworu. “You don’t have to try to so hard.”

Perhaps because of that, after Kaworu appeared, the girls who had been watching Eva and who found it interesting but didn’t feel the kind of enthusiasm that the boys felt about it were able to finally connect emotionally with Shinji. Perhaps because of that everyone loves Kaworu. Hm? Have I ever said to anyone, “you’re fine just the way you are”? Isn’t that something I’m always saying?

[1] Evangelion director Hideaki Anno participated as a staff member. Among other things, he directed the bank transformation sequences of Uranus and Neptune in Sailor Moon S, and worked on the genga of episode 103 of Sailor Moon S and of the Ikuhara-directed series Sailor Moon R.

[2] The term anpo (or ampo) toso refers to the widespread protest movement against the U.S.-Japan security treaty, which led to massive demonstrations in 1960 and 1970 (against the signing of the 1960 treaty and its renewal in 1970).

[3] Among other things, the appointment (as Misato) of Kotono Mitsuishi, the voice actress of Sailor Moon’s protagonist Usagi Tsukino, and the appointment (as Shinji) of Megumi Ogata, who had voiced a young boy in R, give an indication of Anno’s strong respect [for the series].