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dailyaudiobiblechronological · 2 years ago

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6/23/2023 DAB Chronological Transcription

1 Kings 12-14

Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm Jill. Today is the- what's the date? 23rd day of June. I had to think about who I am and where/what day it is today for a second. I'm so glad that you're here. What a privilege it is to be here with you. Thank you for allowing me to be here with you in this time- your time with God and that intimate relationship through his word is of importance. And so I'm quite honored, quite privileged to be some small part in that and just extremely grateful for this community. And then I do get to be here with all of you and we're privileged, it is to be reading the sacred word of God together with you, for us in community. We have been literally all over the word this week and today is no different. We’ll be swinging over to First Kings reading chapters 12, 13 and 14. Just a couple days left in the Good News translation. First Kings chapter 12.

Commentary:

We’ll pause here for today because tomorrow’s reading will be basically the same story just a different narrative as we read from Second Chronicles just matching parallel story.

Prayer:

So father we thank you for your word today and we thank you for your grace and your mercy that is present to us every day on the days that we undoubtedly need it and then the days they're a little bit more mundane that seems like maybe this is smooth sailing, maybe we've got this, your grace and your mercy are still ever present and we still need you as much on those days as any other day. Our dependency should not grow in times of urgency, but our dependency should be every breath that we take and we breathe you in knowing that you are there, that you are with us. You are for us and your mercy and your grace is endless. And I pray that that which is so readily available to us when we so much need it in the urgency, in the apparent, in crisis and in need. I pray that we would reach for you in the overflow as well. Know that you are ever present with us. We love you and we worship you. We pray this now in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Announcements:

My water bottle is crackling over here. It’s expanding naturally out and it’s just funny when you're praying and you're like okay Lord there you are in my water bottle. Oh it's funny the things we we say and think right? Maybe he's not in it, maybe it's not actually in my water bottle. Anyways Daily Audio Bible that's the home base- that's the website- what is happening here. I don't even know, take a look around if you have not. Download the app. Yes that's a resource it's available for you- lots of resources available there for you at the site as well. Explore it if you have not. If you would like to partner with us we thank you so much for your partnership. We could not do this without you and we're so grateful that we don't have to. If you're giving by mail DAB PO box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174 or utilizing that convenience little rectangular time sucker that we live on your mobile device, hit the give icon on the app up at the top right hand corner and lastly look for the give icon on the website if you need prayer. If you'd like to pray for someone that's previously called in you can do so several different ways we are a people that prays for one another one of my favorite things here 800-583-2164 or once again utilizing your mobile device hit the red circle button up at the top right hand corner you have 2 minutes on the prayer line please be clearly and concisely and then at the end it submit turn the little wheel and it will get to the right place. That's going to do it for me today. We'll turn the page together tomorrow and I look forward to it as I do everyday that I get to be here with you, a privilege it is for real. I'm Jill. Until then love one another.

Community Prayer Line:

Good morning Daily Audio Bible C, this is Elizabeth from Delaware calling in and I would just want to give you an update on my husband Dan. We did have to go back to Rothman Institute in Philadelphia to appraise his right knee that was replaced back in February which is not been healing and the news is we have to have it totally replaced again. So if you could pray that that goes smoothly and that they can resolve this. Continue to keep Dan in your prayers…just bring us closer to him. So thank you for your prayers. We are listening daily and praying for all of you. I know Sam and Clarence would like to say hello to you. They can't listen to DABC, but they appreciate the DAB anyway. I thank you for your prayers and God bless you all. Bye-bye.

Hello, this is Daughter of the Silversmith and I'm asking once again for you to pray for my friend Kristen and her family. She had married a man who was a Christian and now he is only seems to be a shell of who he used to be. And my sister in Christ have walk this and I lead her children to church on her own with her husband sayin snide remarks and causing issues in the home. And I'm not saying she's perfect, but would you lift my sister Kristen up in prayer and her husband and their children? Children are having anger issues now. They’re lashin out at their mother. So please lift them up in prayer and ask God to do only what he can do to enter that home and to clean it out of the enemy. Thank you.

Good morning family, it’s Inge from Denmark. I’m calling in response to Carrie AKA Jesus Girl. You had a request for Selena and her children. God, heavenly father, I come before you today stating your greatness, your almight, your love, kindness, mercy and your grace for us. God I come before you asking prayers over Selena. You see her situation- how devastated she is. She’s lost her husband- her children have lost their Dad. And even though that has happened very recently she has had several other very close family members pass away. And Lord I thank you that she’s been remaining strong. She’s been clinging onto you, but now she feels like she’s caving under the weight of the grief. Lord, I just thank you that You’re a God who sees and you don’t remain passive. You’re an active God and I wanna thank you that while she feels her legs cannot hold her anymore, you come running to her and you catch her. And you hold her. Thank you that you supply and you provide. And I ask you God to just manifest your love and care for her and her children in a mighty way God. That there will be no question in her mind that you’re right there. You draw near to the brokenhearted, bandage their wounds. I just pray God that she will get that. That innate feeling from you. there will be no question that you got her.

Good morning DABC, this is Tanya calling in. I just finished listening to Jesus Girl I think share her name was Carrie on her friend Selena. Her mom passed and she had a previous passing of her husband and with someone else, but heavenly father I want to lift up Selena to you. Lord God I'm asking fathers around her Heavenly Father continue to strengthen her right now and the mighty name of Jesus Lord for comfort, for healing. Lord God give her the strength to endure what she's going through in her time of loss. Heavenly father to smile again bring someone in her life that can continue to keep her uplifted as she go forward. Lord God heavenly father I just love you Lord God for being the almighty God that you are and it's not a good feeling father to lose someone but look out we just know…that they may be lost in the physical aspect but Heavenly Father we just trust Lord God that they would be with us in spirit. And and we will see them once again. I just want to say thank you once again right now in the mighty name of Jesus. And I speak divine peace and divine healing over Selena. And divine deliverance in the mighty name of Jesus.

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fluffypotatey · 1 year ago

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--breakdown the narrative mechanics of Lego Monkie Kid because you must understand that there are 2 narratives at play here and they must not be confused as the other.

so *cracks knuckles* let's do this >:3

[so, uh, funny story: this became a monster of a meta and i've decided to break it up into parts. this is part 1...... word count is 2600+]

1) Understanding Narrative Mechanics

This is going to be my general explanation of the "mechanics" behind story narratives. It will be broad and include almost all types of media (plays, books, shows, movies, video games(ish), musicals, operas, etc) because while they are vastly different in how they tell a story, there are some key details and methods of story-making that they all share.

Anyway, let's begin with some simple examples (hah) first: protagonist, antagonist, and narrator.

Are we familiar with these 3 terms? (I should hope so, but you never know, and it's ok anyways bc imma define them whether you're familiar with them or not.)

Short answer: protagonist is the character of the story you experience the story with together (main character); antagonist is the character in opposition with the protagonist and is the main conflict of the story; narrator is the "person" telling the story of the narrative.

Let me make something clear here. It is possible for the protagonist and the narrator to be the same "person;" however, it is important to not associate them with sharing the same role. The narrator can be anybody. it can even be nobody. but, for the love of fiction, do not group protagonist and narrator together!

Ok, now for longer definition.

Protagonist

They are the main character. They are the one you typically get the most insight one in a story, know their thoughts, dreams, motivations, fears because the author wants you to root for the protagonist, or, at the very least, enjoy the character you spend most of the story with.

Contrary to popular belief, the protagonist does not need to be heroic. Let me repeat that: the protagonist does not need to be heroic. they can be villainous, they can fit into the gray area, they can be the purest little cinnamon- it does not matter. Well, it does matter for their individual story, but that is because the protagonist is the one that typically moves the plot, sets forward new challenges or characters, and all of that depends on the actions given to them by the author

(However: it should be noted that other characters can be used to move around major plot events. Think the gossip from background characters, the greek chorus, and antagonists. I am focusing on protagonists because that is a role they are typically given)

In addition, the protagonist is the character who the story revolves around. journey to the west? It isn't about the great Monkey King who vanquished demons and heavenly bodies alike. No, it's about the monk Tang Sanzang, aka: my boy Tripitaka, tasked with the job to journey west and acquire the sacred buddhist scriptures in order to bring them back to china.

Tripitaka is the protagonist. The story revolves around his journey and growth (his companions also receive character growth and development, too, but the main focus is on Tripitaka).

Song of Achilles? While it does tell a tale of Achilles's story in the Iliad, he isn't the protagonist. Patroclus is. It is a story about Patroclus and his experiences living through the events of the Iliad and how he grew to befriend and fall in love with Achilles (spoilers....I guess. You should read it anyway, it's really good)

Antagonist

Ok, so as I said in the short answer, an antagonist is the opposition to the protagonist, the character that presents or inflicts conflict in the story. Please note: there can be more than one antagonist. additionally, antagonists do not have to be a “person”. It can be nature, the economy, and many other shit. An antagonist is the character that plays the role of disrupting our beloved protagonist’s day or plans. They are the character that can make the protagonist go on a whole existential crisis or be the cause of all of protag’s side characters abandoning them.

And, you may notice, that many antagonists take the “villain” role in a lot of stories you’ve read/watched/etc. Does that mean that the antagonist is always the villain of the story? Absolutely fucking not.

Just like how a protagonist does not equal the “hero of the story”, an antagonist does not equal “the villain of the story”. Notice how when defining antagonist, I said “opposition” instead of villain. Anyone, villain or not, can be in opposition with another. To be a character’s nemesis or enemy does not equal the characters in opposition being in a hero/villain dynamic. And the protagonist/antagonist dynamic is merely the main conflict of a story’s narrative. It is the driving force of a narrative’s plot.

Narrator

Now, you may have noticed in my brief definition of narrator, I placed the word person in quotes. That is because a narrator of the story does not need to be a tangible person in the story. A narrator is able to be whatever the author wants it to be– intangible, a physical player in the plot, disembodied voice, observer, etc. It should also be noted that while a narrator is not required to be involved in the story, it can have a character of its own. It can be catty, judgemental, indifferent, sympathetic, unreliable, reliable, and many others.

It also important to note that the narrator (or narrators because a story can have more than one) of a story is the one that is presenting the “facts” to the audience. Let me say that again with emphasis: the narrator is the one who presents the facts and details to the audience. That is how we come to understand the plot and character motivations (or don’t).

Why is it important to keep this piece of information noted? Well, sometimes, the narrator of a story can lie to you.

What?????

Yeah, I know. The narrator can lie to you. The narrator can omit certain facts and details that would have solved the plot/issue/mystery a lot faster. The narrator can deliver truths in a skewed presentation. The narrator can also have facts and details withheld from it by the author. The narrator can also be lied to.

You can and will be presented with stories that hold many layers. Sometimes the narrator can hold the key and unlock it for you, or keep you ignorant to 50-something layers that the story contains. So, always be on your guard. Keep a critical eye open for when a plot feels too easy or biased (but also be aware that some stories are straightforward with their plot and narratives sometimes. But that is why it’s important to identify the difference between a simple story and a complex/nuanced one.)

That being said, the narrator is essentially the “character” or lens the audience looks through to understand the story, and this can be presented in 3 (with 2 subgroups) ways. (Meaning, you can get a fooled 5 times!)

1st Person POV

Exactly what the title says: the point of view, or narration, will be told in 1st person. that means the story is told by a narrator who is recounting or experiencing the narrative at present. So, you get your beloved “i”, “my”, “me”, “we” pronouns in the story.

What does this mean for us? Well, it means, the audience (us again!) only views the narrative/story through the eyes of whoever holds the personal pronouns. Our biases come from the narrator. Our opinions are shaped by the narrator in a very skewed and one-sided way. We only see the story in a certain perspective because that narrator wants us to view it in that way. We will not see the behind the scenes interactions of other characters unless our narrator is involved, and even then, we cannot know the thoughts of the other characters except what is presumed by our narrator.

This is also why teachers and professor aren’t a fan of essays being written in 1st POV because it can steer the writer (that being us….maybe…or maybe just me) away from staying objective/impartial to their argument. There is an informality that comes with 1st person perspective. A familiarity.

Something interesting about 1st person is how it breaks down that 4th wall barrier, and how it communes with its audience. You feel like the story is being told to you by a friend. You feel like you’re being told a secret no one else in the narrative gets to hear. Only the audience and the narrator are privy to.

However, that is also one of the main issues with 1st person pov because sometimes that informality ruins the story for audience members. We don’t truly know the narrator, they are not our friend no matter how much they might be written to be. The narrator is, essentially, a disembodied and fictional voice that is the medium between the story and the readers. Not to mention, someone presuming to know you or tell you all this personal info can feel invasive and presumptuous. And, in the sake of fic, it is why 1st pov can come off as cringey.

That being said, it is a wonderful tool to use for unreliable narrators.

2nd Person POV

So, remember what I said about 1st pov’s main gripe is because of an assumed presumption of familiarity and that’s a possible factor for why it is disliked in fandom? That has nothing on 2nd pov!!!

You wanna talk about presumptions??? 2nd person point of view is all presumptions the writer has on you, the audience member! how the fuck can a single writer know the way you think, how you tick, what intrigues you, what catches your eye????

Simply put: they can’t. However, if you read a 2nd pov fantasy, the writer will assume you’re a reader with a knack for the fantasy genre and can make certain presumptions there. Will it be accurate? no, but their generalizations will land a little closer than if you were to find a book that tries to assume everything about everyone.

But enough of that, what the fuck is 2nd pov exactly? Let me try my best to explain this well.

Ironically, I love 2nd pov :D started off with me experimenting because I was curious (I also read a really good book with 2nd pov called The Raven Tower which inspired said curiosity) and now I just enjoy 2nd pov. Have I written any 2nd pov? Once, but ngl it’s a little harder because, again, there’s that issue with presumption that comes with 2nd person. The distance encroaches more than 1st pov because it presents you, the audience, as the narrator even if the audience cannot technically be the narrator for stories unless you're the one retelling it.

Ok, uh, I am not being short at all, but to surmise: 2nd pov places the narration on the audience even if the audience cannot technically be the narrator because something else is steering into the plot’s direction. Also, works really well with unreliable narrators because you can place trust on the writing guiding you through the story even if it misleads you.

3rd Person POV

Ok, we all know 3rd pov, right? Uses the beloved “they,” “she,” “he,” pronouns and is the point of view with the most distance from the audience and/or plot, yeah? Good.

In 1st POV, the insider knowledge is whoever that narrator is (the “I” person). In 2nd, the insider is us(ish). For both POVs, the only way to obtain the thoughts and opinions of other characters is by them admitting, out loud, to the narrator’s face, their thoughts and opinions.

3rd person? WE DON’T GOTTA ASK, BABY!!!! They give it to us of their free will (ok maybe not of their own free will, but that’s not for them to decide).

Did you also know, 3rd pov has sub-povs????? Oh so special! Such a unique and special pov! The chosen one, it is.

Limited

As the name implies, this pov is limited to only seeing the scenes that are witnessed by the main cast. We only get insider’s knowledge to a small few. Typically, these characters are the protagonist and their friends(ish).

"Hey, Fluffy didn’t you mention something about distance earlier?" THAT I DID! Now, with 3rd person limited, there comes some caveats.

4th wall stays rigid (typically) characters cannot talk to you…with exceptions (narrator from Series of Unfortunate Events)

insider thoughts of the characters are more selective. meaning, the author gets to have a better chance at hiding future plot points, foreshadowing more >:3, and keeping the audience in the dark

the narrator itself is not an active character in the story. It doesn’t even need to be personable. the narrator is a disembodied voice telling the audience the tale of mystery or of woe or of fantasy. unfortunately, the narrator can only inform the audience through a very small lens. unlike its friend below.

Omniscient

It is the exact opposite of Limited POV. So instead of being stuck in the perspective of the few, you are now at the mercy of being in the perspective of all. You get a dive into Character A’s thoughts! and you get a dive into character D’s thoughts and you get a dive into the antagonist’s thoughts and you get a dive into a plot the main cast will never see!

Oh to have eyes on all, to be the watcher, the spectator to everything that transpires and— oh, what was that? The characters themselves cannot see everything we see??? So even if their actions are bad in hindsight or they make decisions we know will bite them in the ass, they obviously wouldn’t because they don’t know about Plot B through F???

Dramatic irony, baby!!!!

Now, this POV is typically seen in older books (at least, that’s what i’ve found), but it utilized the most in plays (because the audience is literally right there), shows, and films because keeping the scenes only of one character is not enough. Sure, we could have the character monologue or something but voicing their inner thoughts doesn’t really translate well from page to picture (with the exception of plays and musicals tbh). The whole point of these fictional mediums is for the audience to have more of an eye on the story. To see it from every angle (though, do be careful bc the camera can also lie to you), to watch the heroes strategize on how to save the world and the villains plan on how to take down the heroes.

To be honest, POVs typically find better workings depending on genre or media type. Video games are great with 1st and 2nd POV for example.

And now we have a basis on Narrative, the main roles involved, and who tells the story!!! Of course this is the bare bones of it. The cogs and wires that lie behind the beautifully constructed tale before you. this is the area that is the author’s domain. Tis their home. Where they build up tales and its plot-threads.

Taking a glimpse inside that humble abode should not take away the fun experience of the story. At least, I believe it shouldn’t. Rather, looking behind the curtain merely establishes the context and understanding of the author(s)’s choices. Can said understanding break the magic? Yes. Can it emphasize and strengthen the magic? yes as well!

Simply remember to keep a critical eye out for it!

And those are the 3 main tools used for almost all media, but let's go ahead and narrow it down a little further for the sake of keeping everything in check because I'm talking about the literary mechanics behind a Lego show. Not giving an English 101 class on how to identify and critically analyze literary tools. (there's a nice book about this very thing called How to Read Literature Like a College Professor that does this very thing, highly recommend!)

TO BE CONTINUED *cue evil laughter*

to understand LMK’s narrative, you must understand that there is a Narrative and a Narrative™️ and to understand that, we have to breakdown the narrative mechanics of LMK, so in this essay i will—

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girlerasers · 2 years ago

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Deconstructing Luz & Hunter and Wittebane Siblings Parallels

Alternatively titled: Luz is actually not a stand-in for Philip and I will fight the show's writers on this myself if I must

Another Owl House mini-essay because this show's been on the mind. As the previous one, expect some mentions of abuse, murder, colonization, and so on (as per canon-typical Belos awfulness). Technically peer reviewed (my discord friends talked about it with me)

Luz & paralleling Philip/Belos

The show does a lot of work to make you see Luz as equivalent to Belos, partly in order to deconstruct that. I don't mind that actually, I think the subversion of the "just as bad as the villain" trope fits the show's themes of deconstructing the fantasy genre, given its similar takes on the idea of a chosen one and so on. However, I don't think these parallels are narrative as much as they are just a manifestation of Luz's anxieties and Belos feeding into that.

Stay with me here: We have a character who abandons the only family member they have left in order to stay in the Demon Realm. They fall in love with a witch, and fall in love with the world they're staying in. They unlearn the initial ideas they had about the world that dehumanize its inhabitants in some way—and are in conflict with Philip/Belos, who wishes to "save their soul" and get them out of there.

Am I talking about Caleb or Luz? That's a trick question, because it's both. It's literally the same character arc! And more importantly here—there's something to suggest that at least Belos sees them in the same way.

"We're human! We're better than this!"

Belos has a very peculiar dynamic with Luz in the fact that he is incredibly bent on trying to "save" her despite all she has done to go against him. He sees her as a potential ally, a human corrupted by the sinfulness of witchkind—and offers her an honestly that is pretty much never given to any other character. Now, compare this to the scene in For the Future where he hallucinates Caleb.

"I tried to save your soul. It's your fault this all happened!"

The mentality is strikingly similar—and while we don't have much content to show the specifics of Philip and Caleb's relationship, what we are given suggests a very real parallel between how he views Caleb and Luz.

What about Hunter?

A fair question, as the show poses Hunter as the Caleb to Luz's Philip—especially with him already being a grimwalker of Caleb. However, it's important to note that a significant part of that parallel is that it's incomplete—Hunter isn't the replacement for Caleb that Belos wants.

Because the cycle of killing and destroying grimwalker upon grimwalker is built off the fact that they cannot match what Caleb was. They... aren't Caleb. Even Hunter, who looked the closest, was just that: the closest. Not an actual replacement. Remember Belos had no qualms about branding him with a sigil, a death sentence on the day of unity.

Speaking of that—

King's Tide, & the curious case of Belos' Manipulation

King's Tide gives us two interesting scenes with Belos attempting to manipulate Luz, then Hunter. Both give a surprising insight into his mentality towards both characters.

Hunter, why are you hurting me? I only wanted to help you!

when trying to elicit hunter's help, belos is very much focused on that emotional relationship he cultivated in order to manipulate hunter. Why are you hurting ME. I only wanted to help YOU. but there's no further depth to it. Its a purely emotional attack. Contrast that both with his earlier scene with Luz, and what occurs in Watching and Dreaming.

And despite our differences, I want to help you, Luz. I can send you home. I have just enough Titan Blood for one more trip. Please. I don't want to see another human life destroyed by this place.

While Belos certainly isn't above using emotional attacks to weaken Luz's resolve—playing on her fears of being complicit in his crime, comparing his self afflicted monsterous form to Eda's curse, he also tries to connect with her on a logical level (at least from his point of view).

When he calls Hunter to stop fighting, it's purely because he knows he can eliminate a percieved threat by playing on his weakness—when he calls Luz to stop, it's because he wants to work with her.

You did do something good. I thought this one was another lost cause. Because of you, we can finish our work as witch-hunters, starting with them!

This exchange from Thanks to Them really encapsulates it all. Hunter is a tool for Belos to use, while Luz... I think the ambiguity in "we" in the above quote is purposeful. At face value, it's we as Belos possessing Hunter, an extension of Caleb—him and his brother together again. But he's addressing Luz, thanking Luz, and I don't think that's necessarily because Belos sees himself in Luz. A wayward human who needs guidance back from the clutches of humans... he sees Caleb in her.

Luz & Hunter, two sides of a Caleb coin

I think the two of them are both supposed to represent different facets of Caleb. They're the two characters who are deeply harmed by his manipulation, and both represent the ways in which Belos views his brother. A lost soul to be saved, family to be controlled; Someone who's loyalty must be maintained by emotional abuse and manipulation.

And I think the show becomes stronger when you look at it through this lens, instead of the forced "they're like siblings so they must be like these other siblings" comparison partially born out of Luz's insecurity.

#dove does analysis #the owl house #toh #toh spoilers #hunter toh #luz noceda #philip wittebane #diary entries

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aroaceleovaldez · 3 years ago

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*sobs* do you think there's any chance of Jason returning as minor god?

Realistically? No, and i do think narrative-wise that’d be a lame cop-out. That’s too easy and too deus ex machina. Personally I don’t necessarily want Jason to be revived in any form in-canon, not because I dislike his character or anything (I love Jason and also I know if I said i disliked Jason, my friend would disown me- /j) but because narrative consequence in the Riordanverse has been thoroughly eradicated. It does not exist and no consequence in the Riordanverse feels permanent anymore. I entirely blame HoO for that and surprisingly that has nothing to do with the Doors of Death, it has to do with the like two times Jason NEARLY DIED in HoO only to magically get better, and Leo’s potion of Just Don’t Die.

HOWEVER. however.

In terms of fan-work in which Jason is brought back, we have OPTIONS, PEOPLE! Jason being posthumously deified feels kind of... lame? To me? No offense, it’s just extremely simple. We have multiple instances where we can have a significantly cooler adventure to bring back Jason which is significantly more narratively compelling, because it feels like there is work going into his return. It’s not just a hand-wave thing, there’s effort to it that is rewarded.

I have two options that I think work best in terms of how we’re told the Riordanverse functions that I think would be good, fun, interesting options (also neither of them are the Orpheus route i’m SORRY it just wouldn’t work with how we know revival works in their universe):

Option A.) Jason becomes an einherjar and his friends have to basically go bust him out of Valhalla. It’s funny! It’s quirky! It’s a crossover! It also makes logical sense - in particular based on how Jason’s death is described, actually. He dies heroically, weapon in hand, and also there is a flying horse. We know einherjar do not have to be demigods, and it’s implied they don’t have to be Norse demigods. They can be anyone. Imagine how just purely silly and feel-good it’d be for the Argo 2 Crew to reunite with Jason trying to break him out of Hotel Valhalla while the Death Sibs are muttering under breath about what a mess this is going to be for their dad.

Option B.) “A soul for a soul.” We’re introduced to this revival trade system in BoTL and LITERALLY NOTHING IS EVER DONE WITH IT AND I’M SO MAD ABOUT THAT. It’s the entire driving motivation for Nico for the majority of BoTL and it’s just DROPPED! We KNOW it’s a legitimate thing because we’re EXPLICITLY TOLD that Minos was going to use it to revive himself! But Nico banished him before he could! Even if it’s like a Ghost King Exclusive thing, Nico is the Ghost King now! NICO OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT!!! Heck, we even know Nico explicitly attempted it before in BoTL, but it didn’t work because he specifically isn’t allowed to trade his own soul (because he is a son of Hades)! There’s not even the excuse that there was in BoTL that Nico is against murder because by BoO Nico has changed his mind and it’s totally down for some justified murder! In fact, will actively do it himself!! Give me a plot about Nico trading a soul to bring back Jason’s! And the weirdness that arises from that and Jason grappling with “Damn, Nico definitely 100% totally killed a guy just to bring me back!” That’s an interesting narrative that is entirely within the realm of established canon mechanics! And is in fact a Very Simple Mechanic, actually! You can’t even say “Nico wouldn’t do that because he’s since learned the importance of the balance of life and death and that reviving people for selfish reasons is bad” because he revived Hazel!! The only reason he was grumpy at Leo was because Leo made everyone else upset by faking his death, not because he cheated death! He’s a kid! He is absolutely going to act selfishly and revive his friend! Please I want some acknowledgement of this mechanic again in literally any form-!!!

#pjo #percy jackson #jason grace #toa spoilers #ask #anonymous

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sabugabr · 3 years ago

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Netflix's"The Witcher" and how costuming matters (2/2)

OR: How to kill a metaphor (and make a pointless work)

SO! Continuing from Part 1...

I was complaining about how the costumes on the Netflix show The Witcher (2019) were poorly executed, and the impacts this has on our understanding of worldbuilding and our narrative tracking on political, social and cultural relations within that established world. Later here, I'll also adress how this not only reflects a trivialization but also an erasure of the racial, social and political connotations that are so strong in Sapkowski's books.

aka: it was all confunsing as hell, and the clothes all looking the same didn't help.

Such unique designs!!!!

"But sabuga" you might say "you're talking about minor and background caracthers, does it really matter that much?" and the answer would be: yes, it really does matter that much. But for the sake of it and for the continuity of my argument back there, let's narrow it down: let's talk about Yennefer

* DISCLAIMER * : First, as I mentioned before, in this post I'll only cover season one, and second, I'd like to state that I recognize the importance of the video game in characterizing a lot of these characters, and that the Netflix series is an adaptation. However, I firmly believe that any type of media should suffice on its own, so here I will consider the Netflix series first as it's own work, taking only geographic and political contextualizations from the book, and not comparing the fidelity of the characters' characterization in the sense book X tv show. The book comparison will come only at the end for a political note, not a design one. And, as always, please forgive any broken English!!! ( * cries in Brazilian * )

2.1 HOW TO WASTE A STATEMENT DRESS — AND MAYBE CROSS THE LINE ON SEXISM WHILE DOING IT

Let's play a second little game

To exemplify what I'm going on and on about how to use a costume narratively, let's take the ball scene in talked about in Part 1, where I complained about the guys in white (remember the guys in white?). So, to be slightly fair, there is actually some relation to color in that scene, because at some point in the ball we discover that one of the dudes in white is actually the King of Aedirn, an extremely wealthy kingdom that is also the home country of Yennefer.

Now, if you remember correctly (I didn't), the conflict in this scene is that this king would very much like to have a sorceress counselor from his own country, and Yennefer very much wanted to be that king's counselor, but because she is half-elf, the mage council (??? don't know if that's the right name but whatever) deceived her and appointed another sorceress to be the counselor to that king. Right?

So, Yennefer is PISSED, and in the first climax of her long (and ac really good) character arc, she decides to make the pact to rip out the uterus and gain various powers and thus become a big hottie. She then APPEARS AT THE BALL AS A BIG HOTTIE and snatches the King, dancing with him all night long, etc etc. So, this dress is her statement dress, right? THE BIG DRESS FOR THE BIG MOMENT FOR THE BIG HOTTIE

This is the dress:

The king is the white dude with the crown, so that you know

Now, you can have any opinion about this dress. I'm not particularly fond of it (and I'll go into this in more detail later), but whether it's good or not is my point at the moment. Let's talk narrative.

SO NOW IMAGINE that instead of having these identical costumes that give you NO notion of identity and make you either have to google which kingdom is which, or just give up and accept whatever the plot gives you (which I originally did), this series had well-demarcated costumes for each place, either by shape, or by color, or by different cultural inspiration (and not so Eurocentric as they were here). So that when the first part of Yennefer's life appears in Aedirn, we'd be able to get some sense of that country's fashion. Maybe reinforce that in other scenes, something like that.

With that well established, imagine that the sorceress clothes WERE an unit. Not only would this give the other sorceress more individual personality without having to give them much screentime (by showing things like, how they would personally enhance or maintain the "uniform"), but it would also make it so much easier for us to identify them. Imagine how these uniforms could be used to show the sorceress' allegiance to the mages' agenda, things like that. SO OK WE HYPOTHETICALLY HAVE A SORCERESS FASHION AND AN AEDIRNIAN FASHION HERE. BACK TO THE BALL

In the series, with the statement dress, it's kinda of implied that the reason the King took a liking on Yennefer had much more to do with the fact that she looked hot, and less with her being Aerdinian (since he kinda ditched the other sorceress even before Yennefer opened her mouth). Now in this hypothetical scenario, imagine that instead of appearing in a standart black hot dress, she suddenly appeared in an AERDINIAN black hot dress. Unlike all other sorceress, that'd be wearing Aretuza looks/colors.

Here, it wouldn't be explicit that the King necessarily thought she was hot and that's why he was impressed, even before he knew who she was. Now, in addition to making Yennefer not just appear sexualized, a political statement would be added to the dress itself. Not only would it show her nationality, but her pride in her nationalilty, and the possible interest in putting Aedirn's agenda above, perhaps, Aretuza's itself.

A good example of this concept being applied is in the recent Hulu series The Great (2020) where, contrary to the Westernized French-inspired fashion that was in effect at the Russian court, the major caracther Catherine (played by the MARVELOUS Elle Fanning and based on the historical figure Catherine the Great, Russia's longest ruling female monarch) appears at her coronation wearing a gown inspired by the traditional sarafan:

As Fania Soo Hoo states better than I do,

".. This moment teaches a ripped-from-the-history-books lesson: Fashion is a powerful tool to help inspire change. Born in Prussia as German royalty, the real Catherine the Great established the Russian imperial style of dress to distinguish from the French and Western European fashions previously favored by the court. Wielding fashion as a soft power, the Empress illustrated her national pride and connected with the Russian people by bringing traditional Russian clothing, like the rural folk pinafore — sarafan — back in style.

In "The Great," Catherine uses her coronation gown to directly reach her new subjects, change her German "mail-order bride" narrative (per husband Peter, played by Nicholas Hoult) and send a message of modernity and change." (source)

Catherine, here, manages not only to message all that, but also throw a big slap in the court's face. She's saying "I'm more Russian than any of you", without having to say a single word. Her clothes say it for her. And they do so while also being STUNNING.

Fashion is a soft power, and a very underrated one in most of historical/fantasy series and movies I've seen. Women don't have to be dressed just to look good, they can also be dressed to state things they maybe couldn't say out loud.

Let's got back to Yennefer in the hypotetical Aerdinian dress. Perhaps, in this context, the political innuendo is ALSO why the King is interested in her, and not only due to her looks. It would have been a power move. There could be a whole political layer involved in the scene, without a word being mentioned directly about it. The whole situation could be recognized on only with intended smiles between Yennefer and the King, and we would still understand it.

And the way the series did it was just SO FRUSTRATING to me in this aspect, because they even made the King and aparently his court wear white on purpose. So you can really think that white is somehow related to Aedirn (even tho the kingdom's actual colors were yellow, red and black, but anyway), and then they made Fringilla (the previously assigned sorceress) wear white.

So now they purposely made Fringilla respect the (here) established colors of Aedirn, which would be the great political move I was talking about, and this was completely disregarded by the King in favor of this newcommer hot lady FOR NO REASON AT ALL besides, apparently, her being hot. And only that.

And of course that, done correctly, there is no problem with a woman weaponizing her sexuality, or whatever this scene was intended to do. Yennefer's arc is very much related to her personal relationship to her own appearance, and it would be totally ok for her to appear "beautiful", and be socially perceived by others as "beautiful", purely for the sake of it. I know the importance that feeling pretty, and seen and admired for her looks has in the early stages of Yennefer's story.

But in my opinion, this scene can be understood not as an empowerment of Yennefer's appearance, but as her being reduced to it. Everything I mentioned in the previous paragraph would be kept with her wearing a beautiful AND political dress. Again, that's just my opinion, but the show's approach to me just felt reductive, and had some "Ugly Duckling Transformation TM" vibes that just didn't work for me.

PLUS, it would also show Yennefer's break with the academy more clearly, and more easily to get. Because, while watching, I admit that it took me a long time to understand what was going on in that scene, and why everyone was so impacted then I realized that it was just because "she looks hot now" and I got a little pissed BUT ANYWAY and would also make the future episodes SO MUCH CLEARER. Because you see, after the ball, Yennefer went to work for the King of Aedirn, but in the next scene we see Yennefer, she's working for ANOTHER KINGDOM. Yennefer is already in ANOTHER realm. The problem is, when I watched it, I just didn't understand this information.

And ok, I understand that in this specific context of this episode, it wasn't necessary for you to understand which kingdom Yennefer was in. It just wasn't the focus of the episode, and not knowing what was going on politically didn't directly undermine your understanding of the series as a whole, as the focus of these scenes is on Yennefer's development. But??? Would it hurt?? To make a more intuitive differentiation between the kingdoms, so that we didn't just depend on our memory for names or Google to situate us in the events?? WOULD IT HURT????

2.2 YOU REALLY CAN'T BLAME THE BUDGET HERE

Now I'm going to go into a thread that is purely my personal opinion, but since I'm here I might as well get this out of my system. Several of the clothes look cheap.

And before I get into that, I'd like to make very clear that expensive costuming is NOT the same as good costuming, and vice versa. You can do wonders with a very low budget, and at the same time you can produce atrocities while swimming in money (Brazilian saying). So I'm not saying the problem is the actual money involved, but I do believe you have a huge ploblem when a caracther who's supposed to dress good just... doesn't.

Look at these 3 outfits:

Told you I'd go back at the ball dress

As for the shape and cut of the dresses themselves, you can see a coherence between them. They follow the same stylistic line, elements like the structure of the shoulder pieces are very similar, and the necklines are too. Does that mean they are good dresses? Not necessarily.

You get to see some historically inspired crumbs (you can see the French cut neckline, that shoulder piece has some Victorian vibes to me, and you sure get SEVERAL "The Tudor"'s-female-costuming vibes), but it feels more like it took inspiration from contemporary fashion that is inspired by historical fashion, than historical fashion itself (this is all within Tim Aslam's concept, of course), and I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of inspirations here were modern, BUT without the sophistication of contemporary high fashion (and historical ones, for that matter).

The design is very plain, the details all seem kinda rough, and there were some contrasting shapes and angles that I really disliked. You have some strong and hard lines, but to me they seem too poorly-finished to convey the refinement I'd expect from a dress for any of the situations in which ther are worn, and they just fail to go along with Anya's naturally elegant face and bearing.

So now look at this outfits:

Here we have some Elie Saab designs, some Valentinos, Zuhair Murad, Iris Van Herpen, Balmain, a Dior over here in the bottom, I could go on and on all day. If you are interested, there's this whole blog solemnly dedicated to reunite haute couture inspirations based on The Witcher's (and others) universe, and I highly recommend you check it out! It's super fun!

So, you can see some correlations in some shapes, concepts and stuff that were also used in Yennefer's costumes, but here everything just look so passionate and unique and elaborated and sophisticated. Of course that these are VERY different scenarios with different purposes and VERY DIFFERENT BUDGETS, but just look at how you can really feel how much the people who did those gowns just loved them, how every sew was so well thought and planned and fitted to create a work of art, and you know, this is high fashion. You can't compare your work to high fashion and not expect me to actually compare them.

Now you compare them to Yennefer's. The one in the last image of her is the most bothering to me, with that fragile-looking shoulder structure, plastered in glitter. I like the idea of it, but I can't even begin to describe how much I hate this glitter. As I said before, a good costume doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive costume, and I usually love medias that play with "trashy" historical styles (don't even get me started on A Knight's Tale and Ella Enchanted — that's a controversial opinion, but you gotta love that wooden escalators), but here Yennefer's clothes don't look trashy on purpose, nor do they look "fun" to me. This glitter dress, with that paper mask, just gives me the impression that I would get a very similar result using the materials I have now in my office and PVA. And even tho I work with design, I don't mean that in a good way.

Once again, this is my personal opinion, but from the serie's text I really got the impression that Yennefer was meant to be this "dress to impress" type of caracther, and I didn't get this from some of her costuming at all. In the same way that the ball dress bothers me, in these other outfits what I get is that their only purpose is to make her look "hot", and that's all. Which, again, okay, but it's so disappointing to me given the potential and narrative depth of this character, and Anya Chalotra's infinitely captivating acting. And even so, I think the only reason they look hot is because Anya is gorgeous and the dresses show some skin. But that gets into this very deep pool of the ways our Western society sexualize women, and if I get into that this would be endless.

So anyway, I particularly find them unflattering and overall boring choices, and on top of that, I can't really say what story these clothes are telling.

Like, I can't say how those dresses relate to these ones:

Yeah, I know I repeated the black and white lace dress, but I ac like this last one and Anya's cute smile wearing it look at her HER LITTLE FOOT I CAN'T -

Because, yes, they are all black, but you can clearly see two diffent lines going on here, the first (A) more "seductive" with the very strong, low French cut neckline, the often exposed chest and tighter silhouette, and the second (B) with the long paned sleeves, the big V neckline and the high collars, broadening her chest. Even the rope one, though more "eccentric", follows this overalll vibe (and even tho I'm not that inclined to the rope dress, at least I can respect it — the top part of it, as least. Not really a fan of her hair and make-up also, actually, but anyway). So we have these two "styles" going on, but really, I can't really tell which is her actual personal style.

I'm inclined to guess B, but I can't really be sure, as there is no linearity between the two. Chronologically, she doesn't start wearing A and ends up wearing B, she kinda jumps from one to the other? And you could argue that she uses A when she wants to shape others' perception of herself, weaponizing her sexuality, and B would be her true style. This is an interpretation. But you could also say that all the times she uses B are somehow "work-related", whereas A is times when she's on her own, so it could be argued that her personal style would be A and Honestly, you can freely conjecture, but it won't go beyond that: conjecture and personal interpretations. Because, besides, those A and B clothes don't tell you anything. And how am I going to know who she is, if I can't even tell what is her style? She likes the color black, is that really all you can get? And if I can't visually see her caratcher arc through her clothes, if I can't seem to put a progression or narrative linearity into these outfits, and they're not particularly showstopping... why are they there?

And, again, that's not an isolated event, it was EVERYWHERE

JUST LOOK AT THESE:

Just going really fast about these two examples because I inteded to make this just about Yennefer to not be so long but these make me so mad,

Our boy Jaskier. Yes, the clothes are colorful, but...? First, they seem to have been bought in a costume shop with the vague theme of "Renaissance". And I'm not talking about an expensive shop. And second, it gives me the impression that he bought clothes that weren't exactly the right size for him, so they all look badly-fitted? Either too big in the wrong places, or too tight in the armpits. Later, I found out that apparently Jaskier would be 18 in season one, so maybe this is to make him look younger? But honestly speaking, I think this was just made to make him look more comical (he is the queercoded one after all hahaha such funl), and smaller, and less virile, and therefore make Geralt look even manlier in comparison. Which, honestly, is a waste of Joey Batey's hot ass, and an affront to the character that by book should be the best dressed one there. He should've been covered gold in jewelry he got from his numerous rich lovers, wearing nothing less than Gucci.

And you can't change my mind.

AND THE NILFGAARDIAN ARMOR. GOD. I know everyone disliked it, but still, GOD. I research the, you know, concept, and found an interview with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich saying that

"The Nilfgaardian army is one of conscription. As they march northward, the army pillages towns and forces villagers into military servitude. They are not an elite fighting force -- yet... There are powerful leaders in the forefront, yes, but the army itself is more rag-tag, borne of necessity, without glamour or means." (source)

?????. I'm sorry but it doesn't look like they were pillaging from battle to battle and making their armor from what they'd found. It doesn't look "rag-tag". I'm gonna be REALLY mean here, and please forgive me, but it just looks like they bought this huge 3D printer and made all their armor using it. The 3D printer. I can't even -

2.3 BUT LET'S TALK BUDGET ANYWAY

It was not pretty. And, as I said before, it wasn't due to lack of money. The costumes probably weren't actually cheap. For you to have a basis for comparison, the first season of The Witcher had a budget of approximately $80 million dollars, with an average of $15 million per episode. The first season of Game of Thrones cost $60 million, and until its last season it maintained an average of $8 million per episode. 20 million difference is a lot of money. The Witcher was MUCH more expensive than a production like Game of Thrones, and comparing the first season of both series, I think the difference in the technical quality of the productions is undeniable. With a lot less, GoT delivered a lot more. (on it's first seasons, but I won't dwelve into that)

Remember my little paragraph over GoT's costumes in Part 1? I'll put the images here again so that you can remember them:

I said it before and I'll say this again, these are showstopping. In my opinion, Michele Clapton really excelled in her work in GoT, (and once again I recommend you check out this blog on each character's costumes in greater detail, it's really great) and she did it with considerably less money. And even tho the show went spiraling downhill, the quality of this worldbuilding and attention to detail and palpable love for each little piece and thread prevailed. I fell in love with all those costumes. They helped shape and bring to live these characters I already loved so much, and they genuinely helped me want to revisit them.

Heck, I watched Mirror Mirror (2012) about 5 times for the costumes alone, and I don't even like that movie. BUT LOOK AT THESE COSTUMES:

With (curiously) a similar budget to Tim Aslam in The Witcher, Eiko Ishioka designed and created genuinely breathtaking costumes, and I really recommend you check this great article covering them. They are worth it. And I find it nice how here you can clearly see the same "historical inspired but with modern high fashion touches to create unique, vibrant designs" concept, only that here, it works. But anyway.

The thing is that even if you are not some costume obsessed person, good costuming still has an impact. It shapes our views. It's one of the main points in how much we'll dwell into that universe and buy that fiction, because it has the power to make it feel real. It matters. As @trinuviel (the writer of those articles on GoT costumes I mentioned earlier) states (way better than my poor native-portuguese ass could ever articulate), "costume design is not just about making pretty clothes - rather it is about supporting and articulating the characterization in relation to the narrative" (source). Which is the point I'm going over and over again here, that ties to Semiotics, my area of study. Because

"Semiotics is the study of how people understand or make sense of life events or relationships. It is the study of sign processes and meaningful communication. Likewise, fashion is a language which holds a symbolic and communicative role. It helps express one’s unique style, identity, profession, social status, and gender or group affiliation. Therefore, the semiotics of fashion is the study of fashion and how humans symbolize specific social and cultural positions through dress.

Garments are non-verbal signs that can be interpreted differently depending on the context, situation or culture. Hence, fashion significance is constructed depending on culturally accepted codes. For example, in Western cultures white color is chosen for weddings because it represents purity while in Asian cultures this color means death and is most likely used in funerals.

Dress codes identify individuals within a culture." (source)

And it just saddens me that a world as The Witcher's just didn't receive this level of care in their cultural visuality, because while I was reading the books I felt in love with that universe, with how rich and beautiful and diverse it was.

But as I mentioned before, I don't think any of this is directly the costume designer's fault. Far, far from it. I got to see an interview where Tim Aslam says that:

"We were going into a fast production process, so it was very important that we had everything we needed. It would be a waste of time to place orders otherwise and wait for them to arrive. In fact, this can be a little intimidating because you have to rely on your instincts. In the future, you may need to buy according to what you expect to use for months later. Sometimes, even for a character that has not yet been written, you will need to have the materials at hand." (source)

I mean, I know that unfortunately this is not unusual, but look at this conditions. It's pretty much a fast-fashion costume design, and this shows so, SO many layers of issues that, to my opinion, link directly at this recent "tendency" to mass-produce media. It feels like they just wanted to make whatever they could, as fast as possible, to wrap it all up and release and fuck the details. They can just cancel it if it goes wrong, so who cares right? THIS PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH

Because, honestly, if anyone has the money to make a big, decent production of any series, it's Netflix. They have the money, they have the resources, they have whatever they want to have. It's Netflix, it's not like the production was subjected to those conditions because there was no choice. THERE WAS A LOT OF CHOICE. They just didn't make them, and apparently left the poor costume designer and who knows who else to juggle what they were able to do.

2.4 THE BIGGER ISSUE

And even though maybe I should, I won't even get too deep to the point of how disappointing it is to me that they took a universe created by a Polish writer, who draws so heavily on Eastern European and Nordic countries, and that offers so many possibilities of correlations on political, social and racial issues in the history of Poland and those countries (and you can get a sense of that by reading this article here), and then ignored all this to focus on a design that privileges Italian and French fashions; I can't even articulate on a single post how badly this sinks to me. If you can't, or don't wan't to, read the full article I linked there, just take this excerpt for contextualization on my point here:

[The humans] "waged war against elves and other nonhumans, and eventually established the Northern Kingdoms. The humans built cities over elven ruins. The Nilfgaardian Empire rose to the south. By the time The Witcher’s story starts, many nonhumans in the Northern Kingdoms have assimilated into human society, although they live in ghettos and are treated as an underclass. Some nonhumans live in the wilds to avoid human control. Elves, dwarves, and halflings rebelling against the humans form the Scoia’tael guerrilla units, which commit violent acts of terrorism.

The Witcher’s setting (and the complicated conflict tearing it apart) recalls the fundamental history of Central and Eastern Europe. The part of Europe stretching from Germany’s eastern border to inner Russia was subject to migration and invasion from the West, the Middle East, and Asia, though the history of the area is incomplete and unclear. By the end of the 10th century, the area had hosted Slavs, Huns, the Turkic-speaking (but also multiethnic and multifaith) Khazar khaganate, Germanic Franks, Magyars, the Kievan Rus, and others.

Sapkowski grew up in a country aware of its history, and in turn, the story of The Witcher shares a deep connection with the past. The disputes between nonhumans and humans echo real-world disputes over territory and citizenship that draw dividing lines according to race, nationality, or ethnicity. This has happened in Poland often" (source)

I know that fantasy media overall tends to give the impression that Middle and Modern Ages only happened in countries like Italy, and England, and France, and that's an issue that our white-praising, westernized society tries to push down on us. But the truth is that the world was so much wider than the Western Europe. There was so many other things happening even in Europe itself, including the countries and events that inspired The Witcher. So why do they all look western in the series? Really, where are the Polish inspired outfits? The Slavics? The Otoman? (lighting up the air a little bit, if you like you can check out this very amusing reddit argument over the possible real-life counterparts of The Witcher's countries)

And I know this doesn't seem like much of a big deal, but as I stated in my very angry rant about the "white-minority" in fictional medias, (modesty aside, it's a very good and very angry little article, you should definetly read it) everything produced by people will intrinsically contain and reflect cultural aspects (intended or not), and that might and will influence not only the way this thing is effectively produced but mainly how this thing will be perceived by others (and if those “others” belong or not to the culture in which this thing was produced will also have a huge impact). So basically, it’s impossible to consume something without attributing cultural meanings to it, or without making cultural associations. That’s just the way we are programmed to perceive the world.

And, in building fictional worlds, this metaphorical co-relation can be used as a tool to improve our connection to certain narratives, especially fantastic ones. Because even if a story takes place in a fantastic/sci fi universe, with all fictional species and people and worlds and cultures, they never come from nowhere, and almost always they have some or a lot of basing in real people and cultures. And when done properly, this can help making these stories resonate in a very beautifull, meaningfull way. I actually believe this intrisic cultural associations are the things that make these stories work at all.

Quoting that article once again,

"Only Sapkowski can say exactly what was going through his mind when he wrote his stories [...] but within the fantasy tales, there are parallels to the complicated history of ethnic strife and resistance to oppression in Central and Eastern Europe. Fighting monsters is frightening, but Geralt’s survival during a brutal moment, one that mirrors real-world international conflict, speaks greater truths." (x)

So, this is a personal take, but honestly, I saw nothing of that social and racial context, that ethnic strife, in the Netflix's show. I saw nothing of real people and real opression and stuggle, and grey morality. I saw nothing of the immigration issues, the holocaust issues, the persecution of minorities that actual minorities could actually relate to. Opressed groups are not exactly white europeans with elven, pointy ears. And if you can't relate to the metaphor, why is it there?

Honeslty, it was to the extent that I really couldn't tell that there was a metaphor at all. And as the brilliant, wonderful, showstopping american writer Ursula K. Le Guin says,

"All fiction is metaphor. [...] If I could have said it non-metaphorically, I would not have written all these words" (source, p. 5)

So if they ripped off the metaphor, why did they write it? What is the point of this series?

(Answer: Making easy money, that's the point of the series)

BUT ANYWAY

I purposely didn't touch characters like Geralt and Ciri, because that would go on too long, and even if I got too deep into Jaskier this would definitely have a part 3 at the very least, so forgive me if this felt like a direct attack on Yennefer, that was not my intention at all! I just used her as an example, and I didn't mean to indicate in any way that her characterization is the only problem, or a bigger problem than any other character in this series (Ciri's outfit is pretty decent though, I wouldn't have much to say from Ciri, to be quite honest. Maybe it's a little boring, that's all, but it works just fine). Far from it. I've actually wrote a whole college paper in a historical fashion design class just on Jaskier (I even got to the poin to redesign some costumes), so there's that. But I hope this was enough for you to get where I am coming from in my critic here!

And even tho I just spend all this time DRAGGING this series, I actually like The Witcher (90% due to liking the cast and the original source, but anyways...), I still find it watcheable and fun and I will definitively go back for season 2 and 3 and who knows how many more (I saw some of the new costumes for season 2 now that they changed the costume designer and I like them a lot more already, so that makes me substantially happier). But it is very, very flawed, and it pains me a lot, because, as I said, it deserved better.

This ended up gettin (as always) very long, and I deeply apologize! But I hope you managed to easily follow the track (I tend to deviate a lot from the subject, pardon me) and enjoyed this little rant!

And as always, feel free to desagree with me at any point!

Thank you so so much for reading!!!

#the witcher #costume design #costuming #costume analysis #cinematography #color theory #netflix #the witcher netflix #character analysis #the witcher season 1 #yennefer #jaskier #geralt of rivia #I guess i can tag got as well #game of thrones #the great #meta #rant #the witcher books

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janecrockeyre · 4 years ago

Text

scum villain is a greek tragedy disguised as a regular tragedy disguised as a comedy disguised as a danmei

this is going to be long, and this is only PART ONE.

a.k.a, Analysing the plot of Scum Villain’s Self Saving System through Aristotle’s Poetics, because I Have Mental Issues

Part One: Introduction and the Tragic Hero

Scum Villain’s Self Saving System is a tragedy disguised as a comedy, unless you’re Shen Yuan, in which case it’s a mixture of a romance and a survival horror. It's a fever dream. It's a horrible, terrible book that made me feel new undiscovered emotions when I finished reading it.

The thing is... SVSSS shares characteristics with some of the most famous tragedies in the West, such as Oedipus Rex, Medea, Antigone, the Oresteia... if you haven’t read these, I’ll explain everything. But the gist of my argument is this: SVSSS is the perfect tragedy. In triplicate.

Tragedy as a genre is old as balls and so it has meant slightly different things to different people over the last few thousand years. I'll be focusing on ancient Greek tragedy, which was performed at the yearly Festival of Dionysus in Athens during the 500-350s BC (give or take a hundred years). Aristotle, when writing about this very specific subset of tragedy, had no idea that one day Scum Villain would be written, and then that I would be using his work as a way to look at Shen Qingqiu’s Funky Transmigration Mistake. Anyway!

Greek tragedy greatly influenced European dramatic tradition. I have a lot of opinions about white academics idolising and upholding the classics as the "paragon of culture" but I'll withhold them for now. I have no idea if MXTX has read Greek tragedy or not, so don't take this as me saying they are writing it.

In my opinion, tragedy is a universal human constant. We are surrounded by pain and hurt and none of it makes any sense, so we seek to process that pain through drama, art, literature, etc. We want to understand why pain happens, and how it happens, and try to make sense of the senseless. The universe is cold and cruel and random. Tragedy eases some of that pain.

On that note: Just because I am analysing Scum Villain through a Greek lens doesn't mean that it was written that way. I'm pasting an interpretation onto the book when there's probably a very rich and deep history of Chinese tragedy that I just don't know about. If you ever want to talk about that, please, god, hit me up, I would love to learn about it!!

Anyway, tragedy. MXTX is excellent at it! Mo Dao Zu Shi? Painful dynastic family tragedy. Heaven Official's Blessing? Mostly romance, but she managed to get that pure pain in there, huh?

But in my opinion, Scum Villain holds the crown for the most tragic of her stories. MDZS was more of a mystery. TGCF was more of a romance. Neither of them shy away from their tragic elements.

Scum Villain would fit right in between the work of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. How? Let me show you. Join me on my mystery tour into the world of "Aristotle Analyses Danmei..."

Part One: The Tragic Hero

What is a tragic hero? Generally, Greek tragic heroes are united by the same key characteristics. He must be imperfect, having a "fatal flaw" of some kind. He must have something to lose. And he must go from fortune to misfortune thanks to that fatal flaw.

There are two (technically three) tragic protagonists in SVSSS and all of them are tragic in different but formulaic ways. Each protagonist has their own version of “hamartia” or a “fatal flaw”.

Actually, hamartia isn’t necessarily a flaw - rather, it is a thing which makes the audience pity and fear for them, a careful imperfection, a point of weakness in the character’s morality or reasoning that allows for bad things to happen to them. For example, in Oedipus Rex, the king Oedipus has a “fatal flaw” of always wanting to find the truth, but this isn’t exactly a flaw, right? Note: this flaw can be completely unwitting, as we see with Shen Yuan. It can also be something that the protagonist is born with, some kind of trait from birth or very young.

Shen Yuan

Shen Yuan’s “hamartia” is his rigid adherence to fate and his inability to read a situation as anything but how he thinks it ought to be. He believes that Bingmei will grow into Bingge, and it takes several years, two deaths, and some truly traumatising sex to convince him otherwise.

Shen Jiu

Shen Jiu’s fatal flaw is his cruelty. It is his own sadistic treatment and abuse of Binghe which directly leads to his eventual dismemberment. This is kind of a no-brainer. Of course, it isn't all that simple, and as an audience we pity him for his cruelty as much as we fear it because we know it comes from his own abuse as a child. This just makes him even more tragic. Delicious.

Luo Binghe

Luo Binghe’s fatal flaw is a complicated mix of things. It is his position as the “protagonist” which compels him to act in certain ways and be forced to suffer. It is his half-demonic heritage, something entirely out of his control, which sets in motion his tragic reversal of fortune when he gets yeeted into the Abyss. He also, much like Shen Yuan, has the propensity to jump to conclusions and somehow make 2 + 2 = 5.

As well as having their respective “flaws”, all three protagonists match the rough outline of a good tragic hero in another way: they are in a position of great wealth and power. Even when you split the different characters into different “versions”, this still holds true. Yes, Luo Binghe is raised a commoner by a washerwoman foster mother, but his dad is an emperor and he also ends up becoming an emperor himself.

Yes, Shen Jiu is an ex-slave and a victim of abuse himself, but Shen Qingqiu is a powerful peak lord with an entire mountain’s worth of resources at his back.

Shen Yuan is a second generation new money rich kid.

Bingge is a stereotypical protagonist with a golden finger. Bingmei is a treasured and loved disciple with a good reputation and a privileged seat by his shizun’s side.

In a tragedy, having this kind of good fortune at the beginning of your story is dangerous. Chaucer says that tragedy is (badly translated into modern english) “a certain story / of him that stood in great prosperity / and falls out of high degree / into misery, and ends up wretchedly”. If we follow this line of thinking, a good tragedy is about someone who has a lot to lose, losing everything because of one fatal point of weakness that they fail to address or understand.

If we look at Shakespeare, this is what makes King Lear such a fantastic tragic protagonist. He is a king in control of most of England, who from his own lack of wisdom and excess of pride, decides to split his kingdom apart to give to his daughters, favouring his murderous, double crossing progeny, and condemning his only actually filial daughter to death. He loses his kingdom, his mind, and his beloved daughter, all because of his own stupidity.

This brings us to:

Part Two: Peripeteia

This reversal of fortunes is called peripeteia. It is the moment where the entire plot shifts, and the hero’s fortunes go from good to bad. Think of it like one of those magic eye puzzles, where you stare at the image until a 3D shark appears, except you realise the shark was always there, you just couldn't ever see it, waiting for you, hungry, deadly, always lurking just behind that delightful pattern of random blue squiggles.

Each tragic hero has their own moment of peripeteia in SVSSS, sometimes several:

Shen Qingqiu

In the original PIDW, SQQ’s peripeteia presumably occurs when he finds out that Bingge didn’t perish in the Abyss but has actually been training hard to come and pay him back. There’s really not much I’m interested in saying here - as a villain, OG!SQQ is cut and dry, and the audience doesn’t really feel any pity or fear for him. As Shen Yuan often mentions, what the audience feels when they see OG!SQQ is bloodlust and sick satisfaction. There is also the trial at Huan Hua Palace, which I will talk about in Shen Yuan’s section.

Shen Yuan (SQQ 2.0)

One of SY’s most poggers moment of peripeteia is the glorious, terrifying section between hearing Binghe for the first time after the Abyss moment, and getting shoved into the Water Prison.

“Behind him, a low and soft voice came: “Shizun?”

Shen Qingqiu’s neck felt stiff as he slowly turned his head. Luo Binghe’s face was the most frightening thing he had ever seen.

The scariest thing about it was that the expression on his face was not cold at all. His smile wasn’t sharp like a knife. Rather, it showed a kind of bone-deep gentleness and amiability.”

This is the moment of true horror for Shen Yuan, because he knows what happens next: the plot unfurls before him, inevitable and painful, and he knows that death awaits him at Luo Binghe's hands (lol). Compare it with the bone deep certainty with which he faces his own downfall during the sham of a trial later in the chapter (I’ve bolded the important part):

“In the original work, Qiu Haitang’s appearance signified only one thing: Shen Qingqiu’s complete fall from grace. [...] Shen Qingqiu’s heart streamed with tears. Great Master… I know you’re doing this for my own good, but I’ll actually suffer if she speaks her words clearly. This truly is the saying “not frightened of doing a shameful deed, just afraid the ghost (consequences) will come knocking”!”

After the peripeteia is usually the denouement where the plot wraps up and the threads are all tied together leaving no loose ends, but because this tragedy isn’t Shen Yuan’s but the former Shen Jiu’s, it’s impossible to finish.

Shen Yuan cannot provide the meaningful answers that the narrative demands because 1) he doesn’t have any memory of doing anything, and 2) he wasn’t the person who did them. Narratively, he cannot follow the same path as the former SQQ because he lacks the same fatal flaw: cruelty.

This is why Binghe doesn’t kill him - because he loves him, rather than despises him. And this is why Shen Yuan has to sacrifice himself and die for Luo Binghe in order to save him from Xin Mo: because the narrative demands that denouement follows peripeteia, and SQQ’s fate is in the hands of the narrative.

(Side note: I believe that this literal death also represents the death of OG!SQQ's tragic arc. The body that committed all those crimes must die to satisfy the narrative. SQQ must die, like burning down a forest, so that new growth can sprout from the ashes. After this, Shen Yuan's story has more room to develop instead.)

It must happen to show Bingmei that SQQ loves him too. And this brings us to Bingmei.

Bingmei

Bingmei has two succinct moments of utter downfall. The first is a literal fall - his flaw, his demonic heritage, leads his beloved shizun to throw him down into the Abyss. From his point of view, SQQ is punishing him simply for the status of his birth. He rapidly goes from being loved and cherished unconditionally, to being the victim of an assassination attempt.

He realises that he is totally unlovable: that for the crimes of his species that he never had a hand in, he must pay the price as well: that his shizun is so righteous that no matter what love there was between them, if SQQ sees a demon, he will kill it. Even if that demon is Bingmei.

The second moment is when SQQ dies for him. Again, from his point of view, he was chasing after a man who was struggling to see him as a human being. Shen Qingqiu’s death makes Bingmei realise that he has been completely misunderstanding his shizun: that SQQ would literally die for him, the ultimate act of self sacrifice from love: that SQQ loved him despite his demon heritage.

Much like King Lear holding the corpse of his daughter and wailing in sheer grief and pain because he did this, he caused this, Bingmei gets to hold his shizun's cold body and cry his eyes out and know that it was his fault. (Kind of.)

(Yes, I’m bringing Shakespeare into this, no I am not justifying myself)

Maybe I'm a bit sadistic, but that scene slaps. Let me show you a comparison of scenes so you get the picture.

Re-enter KING LEAR, with CORDELIA dead in his arms; EDGAR, Captain, and others following

KING LEAR

Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:

Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so

That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever!

I know when one is dead, and when one lives;

She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass;

If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,

Why, then she lives.

[...]

KING LEAR

And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,

And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,

Never, never, never, never, never!

Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.

Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,

Look there, look there!

Dies

Versus this scene in SVSSS:

Luo Binghe turned a deaf ear to everything else, greatly agitated and at a loss of what to do. He was still holding Shen Qingqiu’s body, which was rapidly cooling down. It seemed like he wanted to call for him loudly and forcefully shake him awake, yet he didn’t dare to, as if he was afraid of being scolded. He said slowly, “Shizun?”

[...]

Luo Binghe involuntarily held Shen Qingqiu closer.

He said in a small voice, “I was wrong, Shizun, I really… know that I was wrong.

“I… I didn’t want to kill you…”

PAIN. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL PAIN. Yes, I know Shakespeare isn’t Athenian, but he was inspired by the good old stuff and he also knew how to write a perfect tragedy on his own terms. Anyway. I’ll find more Greek examples later.

This post was a bit all over the place, but I hope it has been fun to read. Part Two will be coming At Some Point, Who Knows When. This is a bit messy and unedited, but hey, I’m not getting paid or graded, so you can eat any typos or errors. Unless you’re here to talk to me about Chinese tragedy, in which case, please pull up a seat, let me get you a drink, make yourself at home.

ps: if you want to retweet this, here is the promo tweet!

#svsss #scum villain #luo binghe #shen qingqiu #shen jiu #greek tragedy #hello followers this account has been silent for a long time but today i bring you whatever this is #long post #i am gonna cross post more art here from my twitter i think #you guys really like my shitposts on here

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villainsandvictimsalliance · 4 years ago

Text

My opinion on bnha 329:

You can check in here my opinion about chapter 328, if you want the context.

I'm glad Horikoshi solved many of the things I pointed out last week. And I'm glad that I'm correctly reading into the manga, at least at some extent.

Let's see what we got this week: (long post)

After a long building up of relating Spinner to common citizens, mutants, people with weaker quirks and in general, the audience or the general public, we finally see this being explicitly acknowledged. He's on the end of his arc now, because the people picked him as their voice.

The last point is really important because Spinner now has great power. This is a direct parallel to the way Uraraka took control of the megaphone and spoke for the heroes. Now, it's Spinner's turn to speak for the villains, but because people wants him to do so.

On another note, we got an amazing graphic parallel of Stain and Spinner. While Stain is in shadows, Spinner is bright. And unlike Stain, Spinner has been chosen by the public. He was not there to be a leader, but people recognize him as one. This is very interesting because it shows how much Spinner has grown and how he is his own character, with his own achievements.

We saw Dabi back in a forest. This is a direct parallel to the way he stopped being Touya and got to be Dabi. It's a graphic reminder that we're getting the end of his arc with the Todorokis. What is his last step? We know he has his own plans and we know he wants to make Endeavor suffer, so could he be on a solo mission to achieve his vengeful desires? In which forest is Dabi? Are we're going to get more flashbacks? Are we going to see him back at Sekoto Peak?

Please note that when they mention Toga, it's exactly the way Curious wanted it. Toga is in front of a black background. She's being inserted on a narrative by force and not by choice, because someone else is putting her there. Alternatively, the white background tells us Toga's arc is still lacking definition and scenario for its end. Her fate is yet to be defined.

There's A LOT to say about AFO. Please look how the League of Villains is broken. AFO is using them as puppets. When referring to Spinner, he talks about him like he's a "bodyguard", not an equal or a friend like Tomura used to do. AFO clearly doesn't care about them and he won't stop to consider what they want, unlike Tomura. He has his own things to do and anything else must be forgotten and put aside.

AFO is still hiding behind Tomura. Please note how Tomura is treated like any other nomu. AFO took the throne of the king (Tomura) and made Tomura into a war dog.

Now, I've written some meta before about how Tomura never had an own identity until he met the League. Kotaro denied Tomura being himself, so much that the hand of Kotaro was still making Tomura faceless long after Kotaro's dead.

After Kotaro, AFO took away Tenko Shimura and imposed a new identity: Shigaraki Tomura. Please note that Shigaraki is AFO username, which means that even back then AFO was planning on using Tomura as an extention of AFO himself. And by naming him Tomura he pressured the kid to never forget his anger and sadness, caused by the tragedy of his family. It was AFO who repressed further the kid, all the hands being a physical reminder of such act. The hands were covering his entire face and because Tomura was unable to touch, he was only able to listen, just like the nomus. That's why Tomura scratches his neck so much. He itches for having an own voice, an own personality, an own identity.

If you pay attention to the panels in bnha 329, you can see how Tomura is wearing both a suit that resembles AFO's clothes and a cloak that resembles the one AFO was using on the world where Deku could see the vestiges. Tomura even has the white hair like AFO now. His pose and clothes are a direct parallel to Deku, but in a way AFO is a parallel to OFA.

Tomura has been stripped away of everything that made him himself. He doesn't have the hands, he doesn't have his clothes, people calls him AFO now, he doesn't even have his friends around. He's alone, a weapon and nothing more. I wrote another meta about how Tomura had no identity analyzing a panel from bnha 328. This is the direct consequence of that.

But this is not a separate case. It is pretty normal, in fact. When a system fails, when an entire country dives on a crisis, it's normal for everyone to question their place in that society and their identities.

Deku had an identity crisis and his friends for UA needed to rescue him and reminded him who he was. Toshinori had a crisis and Stain needed to helped him with it. Uraraka questioned too her identity as a hero and from there her speech above UA was born. Endeavor got a crisis, Shoto got a crisis, Toga needs to decide as much as Spinner does who do they want to be, Dabi is facing his old identity and his new identity conflicts...

This is actually pretty good. The narrative around heroes and villains are being questioned.

Who am I and why am I that person?

Do I need to be that person?

What is my role in society? Why?

What are my goals and why? Are they worth all the consequences?

Do I like the identity of my society? If not, can I change it? Can I change all the things before?

Bnha inner universe is walking towards a redefinition. What is a hero, what is a villain, who are they, why they are heroes or villains, etc. These characters were forced into certain roles or they assumed they needed to play those roles, according to what society told them. And now, they are free to decide. Time and time again, in every journey of any hero, the problems of the identity and the self vs the others is vital, and it shows through the decision making system.

On a final note, I'm a little sad that Horikoshi made a female version of All Might to fight Tomura, instead of giving her a more original character design in general. Women in the bnha universe tend to be seen as replacements of previous existent characters, or they are used quickly to further the plot and get forgotten. They deserve a better treatment, being honest.

The kids will get there rest time, because not all the cards are on the table yet. I love that it's the turn of the villains to play, because the final result of the next battles are going to be partially determined by what the members of the League of Villains decide to do.

Spinner will probably betray AFO, because he's not loyal to AFO's ideals but to his own ideas.

Dabi has his own thing going and he's also going to get rescued by the Todorokis. I really want to see Hawks, Endeavor, Shoto and Dabi all in a same fight, because parallels are going to fly around and I bet we're going to found out more about Dabi's heart.

I think Toga is still going to interact with the UA kids and help them somehow. I hope she gets to talk to Deku and make some good friends.

And for Tomura... He needs someone to reach for him. He has lost himself. His determination is gone, the sparks in his eyes, his fire. He needs a reason to fight, a reason to believe. He needs someone to believe in him, someone to call out his name and make him exists. He needs someone to see him. He's the same lost boy who walked on the streets asking for someone to rescue him. He's the same kid that asked for someone to believe he could be a hero. If Deku gives him that, if All Might helps him too, if the League is there to show them their loyalty, Tomura will be able to snap out of AFO's control and break free.

Nothing like a good villain chapter to make me excited about the future chapters. Let's wait and see.

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yakketymax · 3 years ago

Note

PLEASE go off about cars here too

Dude okay listen this is about to be so incomprehensible cuz I haven't seen Cars in years but here we go

I was like maybe 4 or something when Cars came out and back then, I was interested in it because holy hell talking cars and the narrative of it all didn't really matter that much to me, but I'm an experienced writer now so it matters SO MUCH to me actually! For its time and to me, being the first time I had ever seen this trope, Cars was unique in its execution of the "celebrity has to learn to be humble" storyline. I love that Lightning doesn't just learn how to be humble from the love of a genuine relationship, of many different kinds of genuine relationships, he learns about the town itself and the place it used to be and he ends up falling in love with Radiator Springs as much as anybody else there. The dude gets shown some real love and positive attention for like a week from people who want to know the real Lightning McQueen and not just the racecar he can be and he stops trying to run and settles down, the guy even forgets that he DOES still have somewhere to be until it comes looking for him because he becomes happy being humble in this humble little town

A lot of my love for the movie lies in the execution of Doc and Lightnings relationship. Lightning tries like three times to show Doc up and Doc just never takes his bait and has way too much fun watching Lightning eat shit multiple times because of it asdfghjkgl. He really cuts Lightning down and gives him the reality check he needs and deserves and makes Lightning realize that he's racing for people who don't care who he is beyond a winner or a loser, but in turn Lightning makes Doc realize that he's done more than leave his old life behind (whether he wanted to or not), he's left an important part of who he used to behind, that being his love for racing even if he can't do it anymore himself (the scene of Doc racing in the desert by himself lives rent free in my mind). The way they balance each other out and foil one another and give each other what they need to snap back to reality without even realizing it is so fucking phenomenal, it's an execution of the "unwilling mentor + student who wouldn't leave until they got a yes" relationship that I love to absolute pieces. IIRC, Doc never explicitly says he'll train Lightning, I think he just outright rejects the offer, but still, STILL, he shows up to help Lightning when he knows he needs it. AND LIGHTNING? GIVING UP THE PISTON CUP TO HELP KING BECAUSE THE CRASH MADE HIM THINK OF DOC?? AND THE WHOLE "THIS GRUMPY OL' RACECAR I KNOW ONCE TOLD ME SOMETHING: IT'S JUST AN EMPTY CUP"??? POETIC FUCKING CINEMA MAKES ME INSANE EVERY TIME

I fucking love this movie so much man I could watch it for hours

#asks #Cars Pixar #long post #if you're wondering if i like planes the answer is yes but only because it came out on my birthday

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petitfanboy · 4 years ago

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Comprehensive and in-depth analysis of Asuka and Shinji relationship in 3.0+1.0, implications for the ending and why many youtube Eva analysis videos titles I believe are wrong. (Spoilers ahead)

Preface

It seems it was yesterday when I wrote an extended essay regarding the essential and critical relationship of Asuka and Shinji in Evangelion for the last time. However, seven years have passed.

My idea here is to write, in general lines, about the relationship of Asuka and Shinji in the last movie and the ending and its implications in a more detailed way. I will use different analyses I have read so far besides mine, and you will find the links to all of them in the text.

I have tried to maintain an analysis that followed the narrative plot and what I believe is closer to what the director wants to express. However, as Anno himself has said multiple times, his work may inspire different feelings in different people, so I understand where the differences might come from and, in no way, this is intended as a confrontation to other opinions and theories.

Please, let me start with an introduction.

Introduction

While a lot has changed for me in these years, my view of A/S relationship in the whole Eva universe, including their dynamics, meaning, and canonical aspects have not changed.

Long story short, A/S represent core aspects of the message Evangelion wants to transmit: The Hedgehog's dilemma, the fear of connecting and rejection while having a strong desire to be loved and understood, and finally, the pursuit of happiness. Asuka and Shinji are opposites on their outside and equals on their inside. A perfect match for exploring those issues.

RoE makes clear their similarities

Asuka and Shinji similarities

Evangelion arrives at a fulfilling conclusion at the end, showing us how it is possible to overcome the abovementioned problems. To depict that, it always involves resolving the different issues Asuka and Shinji have between them, becoming closer, opening to one another and, probably and eventually, staying together.

Evangelion portrays that resolution using scenes showing the exact moment of the change in A/S dynamics, the moment when both pursued real connection starts. What happens after that change is unknown, but the intention is clear: once they begin to make an effort, they have the chance to be happy together.

Before the release of 3.0+1.0, different spoilers and youtube video’s titles ruined my life, as I suppose that happened to some of you. It had such a significant impact on me that it is hard to define with words. Not because I was an angry asushin fanboy as some might classify me, but because, had it been confirmed, it would have meant that the message that Evangelion has been constructing since its first airing was shattered to pieces. I could not accept it.

At that specific moment, the Eva Extra Ex manga came and saved me.

Eva Extra Ex Manga Translated

I cannot highlight enough how important this manga was and still, it is. For me, it represented a call from Anno himself, saying: Do not worry, Evangelion is going to keep being Evangelion. I still recall the endless discussions on the internet when 3.0 came out about the effect of the time-skip, in what lousy state the relationship between Shinji and Asuka was (or if it was even inexistent!) and how Evangelion was going to transmit another message in the end. For me, there were always precise moments in 3.0 that pointed against those conclusions. But with Eva Extra, everything changed. It tied aspects of 2.0 and 3.0 very nicely and allowed us to discover more regarding Asuka's feelings and motivations.

With the first interaction in the manga between Asuka and Mari, we see that Asuka still has (deep) feelings for Shinji. As the story progresses, we see how Asuka reacts to Mari's teasing and how unconvinced Mari is of all the bravado that she displays. A/S relationship, alongside their communication and hedgehog's dilemma related problems, still existed in the present timeline of the events of 3.0 and 3.0+1.0.

God's in his heaven all right with the world.

Chapter 1: The houses of healing

Instead of speaking of every Shinji/Asuka interaction scene, I will try to make this analysis lighter by talking about how it progresses across the film and focusing only on key scenes.

The film's first part explains how Shinji achieves healing after understanding how people around him are friendly, which is a big difference from EoE. In EoE, it was impossible. Shinji was left hurt and without any option to heal. He ultimately achieved healing through his experiences in instrumentality, leading to the ending and the hope/love message we all know in One More Final: I need you.

This process, this healing, happens in a precise location. That is the reason for the chapter's title. I took the liberty of naming this first chapter as the eighth chapter of Tolkien's book The Return of the King. But, what place is it?

Initially, Shinji is taken to Toji's house. While that place suits Rei, who will understand the basic meaning of life and being human, Shinji makes no progress there. Interestingly, Kensuke sees how Shinji is not making any progress and suggests he should go with him to his house. Why? It is driven by his new parental role, reminiscent of Kaji. He thinks why Shinji is in such a state and understand his needs at that moment. Besides, with or without knowing it, he reunites Shinji and Asuka under the same roof and the same parental figure.

I cannot say that he willingly wanted to reunite Shinji with Asuka, although I am sure he thought it was a direct consequence of carrying Shinji with him, so he was happy with that idea. As we know from 2.0 and the original series, their friends are the ones who notice Asuka and Shinji bond, so it would not be strange that Kensuke wanted to reunite both of them.

With or without Kensuke's will, bringing Shinji to Kensuke's house mirrors Misato's apartment, but with a male figure as the leader (i.e. A Kaji instead of Misato). It is a comeback to better times. Kensuke takes the parental figure for both Shinji and Asuka, as Misato did when Asuka moved in 2.0 for both children. This time, Asuka is the one who is already living there (previously it was Shinji), and Shinji is the one who arrives later. In 3.0+1.0 Misato cannot fulfil her maternal role anymore, as explained later in the film (and redeemed at the end).

Let me linger on this parallel. In 2.0, when Asuka arrives at Misato's house and introduces Asuka to Shinji, we have the romantic comedy scene of the shower a few minutes later. The scene makes us understand that they feel some attraction to each other, albeit in a very early stage (and introduces PenPen to Asuka). Time forward, this first interaction is repeated in Kensuke's house. When Shinji arrives, he finds Asuka naked after having a shower. This time, no reaction is seen from either part explicitly. Neither Shinji nor Asuka blushed or overreacted, but Asuka clearly states her disappointment, which shows us her desire that Shinji reacted, that Shinji expressed attraction towards her. A significant line that adds up to all the previous evidence about Asuka's persistent feelings for Shinji. What about Shinji? There is a minor detail. When he sees Asuka naked, he stares at her with a glare that is just a mix of emotions. Although it is difficult to tell what he is thinking, Asuka is directly opposite him, and he can see both the DSS choker and her body. However, he only notices the choker when she wraps herself with a towel. Draw your conclusions.

From that point onwards, we get a few scenes representing the problem Asuka and Shinji have communicating and how alike they are. When Shinji throws up for the first time, Asuka explains to Kensuke why Shinji behaves like that and shuts himself off. However, she is doing the same, playing with her console. Asuka's video game is Shinji's SDAT. Asuka hates the behaviour of Shinji because she sees her flaws in him.

Despite all the façade, she tries to communicate and help Shinji repeatedly in the coming scenes, checking on him on several occasions. Whenever she does that, the movie clearly shows us that she has abandoned her Shinji-like behaviour, showing us the console turned off.

Asuka and her videogame

The climax of their conflict is the force-feeding scene. But before analysing that scene, let me tell you a few more details.

I believe that the mirroring of Misato's apartment is portrayed through other details. For example, the name KenKen might have been chosen in honour of the missing companion from Misato's apartment: PenPen.

Furthermore, while some people might find odd the tendency of Asuka to be naked, this is driven by her disgust with her own body, which is shown in the Eva Extra manga. Finally, to enforce the idea that the relationship between Kensuke and Asuka is different from the one that she and Shinji have, it is essential to notice how Kensuke calls them. He calls them by their surnames, Shikiname and Ikari, placing distance between them.

Let's return to the force-feeding scene. In that scene, Asuka wants to help him, which is why she feeds him, and at the same time, she explains her frustration regarding the lack of reaction and understanding on his part. The conflict between them is portrayed similarly to the Eva 03 incident in 2.0

Visual comparison 1

Visual comparison 2

She is trying to understand him, and she tells him rather precisely why she thinks he is in such a state. She only wants him to reciprocate that understanding, and she wants him to think and explain why she punched him after seeing each other after 14 years. I must highlight the punch's importance. It summarises their communication problems, their conflict. Eva clarifies it in 3.0 using the same parallelisms as other communication problems, like Gendo and Shinji.

However, we know how she feels. The Eva extra manga gives us that insight. She has feelings for Shinji but hates his inaction due to his internal struggles. The hedgehog's spikes have been replaced by a punch. If they can talk about the punch, they will start communicating.

From an external view, Shinji reacts to being force-fed in a way that probably is not what Asuka wanted. Shinji leaves the house, followed secretly by Asuka, in another display of how Asuka feels internally. It is another parallelism with Misato's apartment, again with a reversal of roles between Shinji and Asuka.

Parallelism

However, we will learn in future events that Shinji started to think about what Asuka told him at that moment, so he listened to her.From this point onwards, Shinji will deal with his thoughts and come to an understanding with himself. It is not achieved alone, but with the help of Rei and, although not directly, Asuka. She is the one who directs Rei to the place where Shinji is and continues checking on him to see that everything is going fine. She is there.

Asuka cares

When Shinji grows up and maturates, we have the first bidirectional communication attempt between Asuka and Shinji. While she asks Shinji if he feels better, he responds with only sounds. Yet, this is the first time they have tried to talk about their respective problems and emotions calmly. We will see this pattern repeat itself several times in the movie: Shinji grows a bit, and then Asuka opens herself another bit. It is very interesting to see Asuka's glare. Asuka is drawn with that glare whenever she is looking at Shinji in a positive/concerning him way. We will return to that later. Besides, she speaks to him without looking at her console.

All this healing process ends in a sentence that is easily overlooked. The night Kensuke is discussing with Asuka the plans to return to the Wunder, Shinji comes home and says, "I am home". It is the reflection of Shinji's complete healing. Thanks to his growth, he has found a new place where he belongs once more. It let us understand why he will consider that this place is important for Asuka too. Both have suffered the same parental love deprivation, lacking a place where they truly belong. Finding a place that they can call home is part of their way to happiness and usually happens before both connect.

The film also let us see how Shinji heals, comparing it with the healing of one of the village's dogs

Now, Shinji is ready to go with Asuka to the Wunder and start a transformative journey for himself and those around him. But first, let me post a few more details, some of which I had not noticed until doing some research on the internet:

Visual comparisons that highlight the similar role of Kensuke as Kaji (Parental role)

2. Asuka's scarf to hide her DSS choker.

3. The possible futon share between Asuka and Shinji, showing how she cares about him.

Chapter 2: A trip in the Wunder

The most relevant scene for their relationship in the Wunder is Asuka's confession. However, there are a couple of interesting interactions before that. The first one is the display of Asuka's jealousy of Sakura when she sees her interaction with Shinji, saying, "Are you his wife?"

The second one happens when Asuka meets Mari. While loaded with fanservice, this interaction is not trivial. Mari's teasing is an essential element in the Rebuild series, even more knowing how important the character of Mari will become at the end. She seems to be aware of Asuka's real feelings, and we know from the Eva extra manga that she tries to push Shinji and Asuka together, which I will come back to later. Asuka replies to Mari's teasing that Shinji "does not need a lover, he needs a mother". This sentence is a double edge sword. First, it shows Asuka's interest in Shinji as a romantic partner, given her deception, and actually, Asuka is saying this sentence while she is playing the videogame, so probably she is hiding her feelings, shutting herself oof the world as Shinji used to do. Second, it shows the problems they face: Communication and maturity. Maturity, because Asuka feels that Shinji has not changed as she has had, and communication, because as we will soon know, Asuka also wants that figure in her life. However, it is not true that Shinji has not grown up. It is just that they have not tried to communicate again, and thus, she does not know about Shinji's recent developments

Everything will change when Asuka faces the reality of possible death. Before the "final battle", she decides to reach out for Shinji. After Mari introduces herself to Shinji in an awkward way that will be important in the ending, Asuka repeats her question. In reality, she asks if he has thought about her, how she feels and everything she has gone through. To Asuka's surprise, Shinji answers the question, blaming his inaction. Taking this as a partial sign of maturity and growth, Asuka starts opening herself, although not wholly, a sign that Shinji's answer might not have been entirely correct. Besides, her body language is similar to the previous lift scenes in Evangelion, where we know she hid her real emotions.

She will equal what to tell Shinji to Shinji's growth. Therefore, she explains to him how she liked him 14 years ago, but not how she feels now. Furthermore, she leaves before Shinji can reply to her statement, leaving Shinji staring back at her through the glass. So, it is Mari again who makes us understand that this has been a sign of communication that goes in the right direction. She congratulates Shinji and stimulates him to continue like this. Again, Mari is trying to solve Asuka and Shinji's problems. Mari says goodbye in Chinese to Shinji (perhaps, a way to tell us that the spell of goodbye works, as they meet again later) and goes to do the same with Asuka, asking her if she feels better. Mari is trying to make Asuka see that opening herself to Shinji will bring happiness to her too.

Nevertheless, we must not forget that the short confession happened because Asuka thought this might have been the end. In a sense, it almost was.

Chapter 3: I need you

This chapter starts after Shinji and Gendo have resolved their issues. As I explained before, the need of resolving their parental matters will be critical to both Shinji and Asuka. The same happened in EoE. Asuka gets to know her mother in her battle against the mass-produced Eva, and Shinji learns about his father's plans and mother during instrumentality. After those experiences and their other interactions through instrumentality, they arrive at the I need you scene where they open to each other.

Gendo gets off the train, and the control of instrumentality is handed over to Kaworu. While Gendo was willing to sacrifice everything for his sake, the growth of Shinji reaches its maximum at this point. Shinji decides to take the reversal role of his father. Even if he is heartbroken or it is a hard and not a pleasant experience, he wants to help Asuka and those who were nice to him. This is the transformative journey that Shinji accomplishes in RoE that marks a completely different path from NGE+EoE.

I worded the sentence highlighting Asuka because those are the literal words of Shinji, naming Asuka as an individual and using the Japanese word "minna" for the rest, which could be the rest of his friends or even the rest of humanity. Shinji has learnt that he must give without seeking anything in return. He must stop thinking about himself only. He is going to help their friends without any positive repercussions on himself. As he later will explain, he plans to rewrite the world with the new spear given by Misato to get rid of the Evas and what they represent, stopping the cycle of suffering that comes with them, and let their friends live a happy life.

Symbolism of the spear

Interestingly, he does not explain this to Asuka and only mentions it to Rei, with some hesitation, which is what prompts him to tell her that Mari would come for him eventually. That behaviour is because for getting rid of the Eva and rewriting the world, he needs to impale himself with the spear inside Eva 01. While we do not know for sure the effects on Shinji, the way it is portrayed resembles a willing sacrifice, a person opening himself to that terrible outcome for a better benefit for their friends. Besides, we must not forget that the sync rate of Shinji with his Eva was infinite at that time, so probably the expected outcome would be the death of the pilot and he knew about that.

This situation is what gives us an essential context for understanding Shinji's actions. As Asuka earlier, he also thought that he might not return. But let’s see what happens with Asuka and Shinji.

The first to be saved is Asuka. As some sort of guardian for Asuka (and Shinji, and even Asuka/Shinji relationship), Mari reminds Shinji before he leaves her entry plug in the anti-universe that he has to find her. And he does.

There are many iconic and meaningful landscapes in Evangelion. Still, none of them has the symbolism, meaning, emotional associations and beauty as the beach where Shinji and Asuka laid at the EoE has. Although it is not the same beach and there are different details, the scene's meaning is clear. It was the scenario of One More Final: I need you. Thus, the location evokes that meaning, where Shinji and Asuka connected and expressed their emotions and feelings in EoE. To increase and highlight that intention, the first shot we have of the landscape is a full white moon, a remnant from the N3I. The moon has always been a poetic figure for love, and it brightens the sand creating the white beach. It is the perfect scenario to share an intimate moment.

Then, a saved, Eva curse-free Asuka awakes. The first sentence references the fact that the curse of Eva is lifted, and she can sleep. As some people detail, the plugsuit is a combination of different ones. This phenomenon will repeatedly happen in the anti-universe. Long story short, as I do not want to enter the terrain of the time loops and different universes, I believe that the idea behind that symbolism is that Evangelion is a multiverse. The anti-universe might somehow connect them, and we can see them. However, the characters remain the same from the universe where they come from. Only those annotated in the book of life remember those other universes or RoE time-loops (which seem to affect only the RoE universe and seem not to be confirmed in the other universes), and probably, as Shinji is in charge of the flow of events, the bleeding in his memories is what drives those changes.

The fact that Asuka wears a plugsuit that is a combination of previous ones, does not mean that she is Soryu or several Asukas at the same time. She is Shikinami, and it is the first time that she is on that beach. Her background and memories are from the RoE timeline, as she does not express, as Shinji will do later, any perception of that phenomenon. The same goes for their location. While they are on a similar beach, it is not the same where Soryu and Shinji found themselves in EoE. It is probably the bleeding of details between universes that wraps the metanarrative message that gives importance to the scenery (that beach is where they connected and accepted each other both in EoE and in this movie, and the place will always symbolise that)

Even those aware of other timelines (Kaworu and Shinji at that point) can only remember that they met before or have a déjà vu feeling. They do not have a complete insight into what happened. I think that this bleeding of details gives an important message: All the universes of Evangelion exist. Soryu and Shinji's story from NGE and EOE has happened, albeit in another universe, part of a larger multiverse. In a sense, it is saying that NGE+EoE is as canon as RoE, something essential to maintain coherency. The difference is that they happen in different physical planes of space and time.

Let's return to the fact that a grown Asuka is on the beach. The camera plays, repeating the same shots as in EoE, linking both scenes thematically again. Moreover, the visual links expands to other couples in Eva.

Here, Shinji sits next to Asuka, with his arms around his legs and a completely different gaze, making clear Shinji is happy to see her. The events follow this path:

Asuka sees Shinji next to her and calls him "Baka Shinji" in a not mean way. A way that shows us that despite calling him "Baka Shinji" time and time again, that did not mean that she truly hated him.

Shinji verbalises his happiness to see her again and says thanks to her for letting him know her feelings previously.

Shinji reciprocates the same feelings, using the past tense. Why? Well, at least this time is more straightforward than explaining why he choked her. Shinji has several reasons for this: First, it directly answers what Asuka told him earlier. And second, he wants to save and return her to the Eva free world, and thus, knowing that he might not return, hides his current feelings.

Asuka is surprised that her feelings are reciprocated. She blushes and turns to her left, hiding her real feelings at that moment to Shinji. In the next shot, we see a happy, blushed Asuka smiling.

The reaction of Asuka and all the previous evidence from the movie and the manga make it evident that she still has feelings for him. With his body language, Shinji is also transmitting to us that he is hiding his true feelings. Besides, a past tense confession for Shinji makes no sense at all. Shinji has been sleeping those 14 years. For him, those moments where "he liked" Asuka are only a few weeks or months ago from this moment on the beach. We will get the last evidence that Shinji still has feelings for Asuka, thanks to Kaworu. He, who is aware of all the timelines and universes, asks Shinji if he will feel lonely letting Asuka go. Shinji, with the same body language and a sad face, says no. We must link Shinji's behaviour to the fact I explained earlier. Shinji wanted to sacrifice himself for the happiness of Asuka and everybody.

This links with another idea. The scene is fast-paced. Once Shinji confesses his feelings, he says goodbye to Asuka and the Kensuke sentence. While this might be a reminiscence of Asuka's behaviour in the Wunder, allowing him to avoid any reply, that would have made things more difficult. However, his words are carefully chosen. We know from Rei's experiences in the village that "goodbye, is a spell of magic to see each other again. Despite his plans, Shinji's wish is to see her again

The meaning of goodbye

Then we have the Kensuke sentence. I wanted to talk about this in a simple way. Asuka needed the same parental role as Shinji, and through her experiences in instrumentality, she finds that she has that part of herself fulfilled by Kensuke. However, things get complicated if we start to notice some details. The fact that Kensuke calls Asuka "Asuka" instead of Shikinami and that the doll with Kensuke inside of it appears in the Rei scene has raised concerns that the Kensuke who appears in Asuka's instrumentality scenes is in fact Shinji, helping Asuka to find her place in a future world without him. In more detail:

All Asuka's scenes in instrumentality revolve around Shinji, nothing from Kensuke. It seems that Shinji wants to revert that and makes her conscious that she can find a place to belong and the parental role she needs, especially taking into consideration that he was about to die.

Instrumentality scenes comparison

She verbalises that she has no place to belong yet (despite living with Kensuke for some time), so Shinji wants to clarify that point for her.

It answers why Kensuke calls her Asuka and not Shikinami and why the doll appears again in Rei's scenes on the stage. Furthermore, it connects Asuka's memories with the beach scene, as it is after Kensuke says, "Asuka is Asuka" that she wakes up next to Shinji.

The original source of the theory for me was this video

In the end, from Asuka's instrumentality to the end of the beach scene, Shinji wants her to understand that she has a place to belong alongside the parental figure that she needs and that she is also loved by him, although he is going to let her go for her benefit. A true act of selflessness given his feelings. That is heart-warming and an actual act of love on his part.

Then, something happens amid the fast-paced scenes. The camera shows Asuka with an open mouth, sleeping(?) and Mari next to her. Wait. When did Mari come in? Why? I am not sure of the answers to these questions. It shows that Mari is more than we thought and has more knowledge about the anti-universe and what is happening. We do not know if this scene happens just after Shinji’s words or something has happened in the middle, as Asuka's expression seems not to match the last we see from her. Is there a deleted scene in the middle? Mari says her goodbye to Asuka. Mari has been a bridge between Shinji and Asuka and a close friend to her. In some sense, and continuing the parallelisms between Shinji and Asuka, she has been her Kaworu

Interestingly, Mari only appears to say bye to Asuka and not Rei or Kaworu. At the same time, Shinji only says sayonara to Asuka, the only character that does not have a handshake and a shutter closed. While there is no definitive answer to this fact, I believe it is crucial regarding the ending, as it will establish a continuity between the goodbyes and future gatherings, all directed by Mari, and that is why she appears probably (and she might be the one ejecting Asuka’s entry plug)

After Mari's take care, Asuka wakes up in the entry plug and is ejected by Unit 13. It is important to note that Asuka leaves without any kind of voluntary movement. She awakes in different locations and is the Eva 13 who ejects her. We do not know Asuka’s opinion about this at any time, or how she feels about being saved leaving Shinji behind.

Chapter 4: The sacrifice is stopped

After Kaworu and Rei's scenes, which I am not going to talk about, Shinji decides to carry out the Neon Genesis. We get to the moment where he is ready to sacrifice himself, in some sort of redemption of humanity's sins for creating the Evas and all the suffering that accompanied them. But then, Yui appears.

She stops the spear, protecting Shinji, and takes him out of the Eva 01. Yui’s wish is that he can live in that Neon Genesis world where the Evangelions do not exist, where people, and Shinji, can be happy. This moment changes everything. The plot twist will allow Shinji and Evangelion to have a happy and hopeful ending, thanks to Yui's (+/- Mari) plan.

The sacrifice of Shinji's parents for the sake of their child redeems them from the emotional deprivation Shinji has endured all his life. Shinji, mimicking the last instrumentality scene in EoE, returns to the anti-universe, now alone.

Chapter 5: Mari to the rescue

Shinji waits patiently on a blue water beach. Slowly, he starts to fade away in the anti-universe, as there are no others to relate with. This concept was explored both in EoE and at the end of the TV series. Then, Mari comes with her Evangelion to rescue him and take him back to the real world, now the Eva-free world, as promised to Misato. This is very important, as it highlights that Shinji is not going to a parallel universe. He is returning to the same world where his friends are (Asuka for sure, Kaworu will meet him again too, and Rei, honestly, it is not so obvious where she decides to go in her scenes, but probably too)

Mari's last Evangelion is important too. Contrary to Kaworu and Rei, I believe it is how Mari and Shinji returned to the ordinary world (probably with its entry plug, like Asuka). We might never know that. Then, the next scene is the opposite scene from Asuka in the entry plug, but with Shinji. Now we see an adult Shinji in a train station.

There are different questions to answer to understand what is happening in the ending. However, I think that the film's conclusion is the same regardless of the answer to those questions.The questions are:

Is the train scene set in the AU or in the real world?

Are Mari and Shinji the people we see coming out from the station?

Did Asuka arrive at Kensuke’s house or is she present there if that is the real world?

I tried to sum up the different theories in simple pictures.

My personal opinion just after watching the movie was that the first scenario was the most likely. However, after seeing different analyses, I am not 100% convinced and I cannot give my support to other theoriesyet.

The sources for the other theories are these

And the fact that the pilots might be illusions come from here

As you can see, regardless of the answer to the questions from above, they always end up meeting again. While this is not explicitly shown in the movie, I strongly believe it is the reason why Mari appears at the end scene. Mari is the beacon light that will guide him in this new world, and there is a lot of visual comparisons that prove this fact, comparing Mari to Misato, and knowing the role of Mari in Gendo and Yui’s life. Furthermore, a lot of people consider that the fact that Asuka is alone in the platform is a sign that she is there to be reunited with Shinji, as she has no partner and seems to be playing with something like her old videogame. All of this is enough evidence to stop thinking about this ending as “Shinji choosing Mari to live a happier life” or “to let go the past”.

Comparison

The role of Mari in Yui/Gendo life. A hint in her possible role with Asuka/Shinji

Mari and Shinji, Mari and Gendo, the same fate.

I am sure that Mari will reunite Asuka and Shinji. She has been a bridge between them since 3.0, and the Eva Extra manga gives more insight into that respect. Besides, she did the same with Yui and Gendo, and there are a lot of comparisons between Yui/Gendo and Asuka/Shinji in a visual way throughout the series.You will find Asuka glancing at Shinji with the same face and eyes expression as Yui did.

We have talked about this before.

While it would be interesting to know exactly how Shinji arrives there, the narrative conclusion that they will meet again, independently of what has happened to the world, will not change. This resonates with the title of the movie "thrice upon a time", as evidenced here.

There have been multiple Evangelion universes, both with and without Evas (EoE ends with a world without Evas, as the manga does) and in all of them, all of them, Asuka and Shinji meet again. And this is really important, as now they can communicate and have the chance of growing together and be happy.

Conclusion

Asuka and Shinji are two sides of the same coin, with different defence strategies in the context of the hedgehog's dilemma. Despite their mutual attraction, they are incapable of communicating and reaching each other. In EoE, it took almost the end of the world and humanity to understand that it is thanks to not living with the fear of pain and rejection that we can understand and accept others, ultimately overcoming the hedgehog's dilemma. This is expressed by the caress of Asuka to Shinji in EoE. This loving gesture shows us that the characters start understanding each other and have the chance to be happy together. EoE ending is a message of love and hope.

A/S relationship will represent this conflict wherever they are portrayed, in a cycle of desire/attraction, which leads to conflict and a resolution with understanding and love once they learn to accept each other and start communicating. In EoE is quite visual and displays both of them together at the very end. The manga is less explicit and more hinted at, but the scene at the train depicts how they connect in that new world where they will understand each other.

Thrice upon a time is not an exception to this rule. The last scene of EoE and the manga that involves Asuka and Shinji is the moment they connect, communicate, and change the way they treat each other. In 3.0+1.0 their final scene together is the beach scene, where they confess their mutual feelings in what is a never seen before sincerity and openness between them. Then, a world without Eva is created (in EoE this is exemplified by the crucified Eva and in the manga is more similar to the movie) and we know that Mari will guide Shinji to a safe return to that Eva free world and a gathering with Asuka and his friends. Despite not appearing on screen, all the narrative of the movie, and the whole of Evangelion, makes us understand that they will understand each other more and more and will be more honest towards their feelings, giving them the chance of being happy. As a consequence of that, the leitmotif of Evangelion is repeated once more.

The message of 3.0+1.0 is not about letting go of the past because you have grown up or let it go to move forward. The message is that it is thanks to going through those good and bad experiences that life gifts us, accepting the chance of suffering pain, that we can mature and learn. This learning will make us understand ourselves and those who surround us more, making us love ourselves and others, having, ultimately, the chance of being happy, loved and finding a place to belong to.

And it is in the middle of this struggle, that the love story of Asuka and Shinji shines, reminding us that humans can connect and be happy.

If they can overcome their problems, so will us.

Everybody finds love in the end.

One More Conclusion: Where is Anno's wife?

What a ride! I think I have written about almost all of Shinji and Asuka's interactions, perhaps leaving just a few ones at the beginning of the movie, and without the mention of Anno as Shinji or his wife as Mari in all the essay! While extremely popular, the theory that Mari represents his wife has many flaws and I still do not understand where it is based. From the character being designed without the supervision of Hideaki Anno to the direct denial from his wife, including that the theory does not match the narrative plot. While self-insertions and story developments related to personal experiences are not rare in storytelling, we cannot explain everything in Evangelion by metanalysis. While Anno's struggles with depression have shaped NGE+EoE, the development and growth of the characters in their own arcs are what matter when analysing them. Shinji might be inspired by his awful experience at that time, but as we said earlier, Asuke is shaped like Shinji, albeit with different behaviour. Therefore, we should accept that both of them are depictions of Anno and not only the masculine figure.

In the end, it is Shinji who rejects instrumentality, returns to the real world and is caressed by Asuka in EoE. The characters do that, not Anno. The same happens in this last scene. While the location of the train station and city is totally related to the director, what is going to happen to the characters in the context of the plot is an important thing to consider when analysing them.

From NGE+EoE to this last movie Shinji grows and understands the path to be happy always. This is not exclusive of the RoE saga because Anno has overcome his problems. Therefore, conclusions such as "now Anno is happier, so he wants Shinji to be happy" are not supported. What changed in RoE is that the growth of Shinji happens prior to the last impact and instrumentality, instead of growing after those experiences. This allows the portrayal of a lighter version of Shinji in those dramatic moments, resembling more a traditional hero who saves his friends, instead of letting them down and then coming to an understanding all together (because everyone shares a slice of the guilt cake) in instrumentality.

I believe that it would be more fruitful if we took into consideration his wife's work in the way that this tweet states, rather than engage ourselves in discussions about meta self-insertions.

I hope my words have helped those who felt like me after the release of the movie.

Thank you very much for all your time reading this.

#Evangelion #Rebuild of Evangelion #Shin Evangelion #asuka shikinami langley #Shinji Ikari #asushin #asuka x shinji #shinji x asuka #las #everybody finds love in the end #thrice upon a time #evangelion 3.0+1.0 #Asuka and shinji will meet in all evangelion universes

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