#the stuff with misato especially

[himedanshicult]

me and my gf actually reached the 25th episode of NGE and uhhhh hoo boy i didn't expect it to hit so close to home

[kafus]

forgive me in advance i only just watched NGE so my analysis of it is not that in depth and also i have very little prior exposure to its fandom or any other analysis of it so this is messy. but

i'm going to be honest i have peeked a little into the fan culture surrounding NGE and i guess i shouldn't be surprised considering the fanservice-y type stuff (especially in the rebuild movies, i adore them but that's one of the only things i was like. do we really need this many ass shots guys. not a big deal tho idc) but i was surprised anyway by the apparent longstanding history of shipping wars and also just... the way the female characters are treated by the fanbase. like i looked up misato on the tenor gif search to send a gif on discord and was frustrated by all of them being sexual/having sexual comments written on them or just her being a cutesy alcoholic type woman???

NGE has an extremely interesting portrayal of human sexuality and that is a running theme, especially in the original anime and EoE tbh, but like not in a way that makes me invested in shipping. you know me, i am a shipper at heart, i LOVE shipping. and yet i never got into shipping any of the characters. i also think shinji being implied to be with mari at the end of the movies makes a lot of sense. it's not because it'd be straight, i am fully capable of shipping straight couples, but i just find evaluating that theme of sexuality so much more interesting removed from the idea of shipping. (if anything, the only thing i even remotely shipped was misato x ritsuko, and like... i'm not that serious about it)

and simplifying the female characters and especially misato down to objects of affection instead of the incredibly interesting things they represent and who they are as whole people is so wild to me. like forgive me for being on my soapbox, misato is my favorite character i have to, but like. i love misato for being a complex and nuanced adult character with flaws. i love the ways she is mature even past her own age but also immature like a child and how those things coexist. i love how she represents hope in the most bleak of situations because she is always the one going for strategies to win and survive even if the success rate is barely above zero. i love how much of a badass she is when commanding NERV (and WILLE) and the list goes on. so why does she appear to be so often reduced down to jokes about beer and needing her to step on people or something. i assume rei and asuka receive similar treatment seeing how often they are reduced to a petty shipping war IRT shinji

idk NGE is a beautiful work of art that has so much to say and i can't imagine engaging with it in these ways. i know plenty of people are not like this and there's also so much wonderful analysis and sentiment for this series for the past few decades that i still need to sink my teeth into at some point. but damn some of these bitches in the fandom annoying i guess

[i-was-a-teenage-eldritch-horror]

Hi! So I'm rewatching Evangelion and just discovered this section of the fandom (including some of the other accounts you've mentioned in the past). I'm reading through a lot of critiques of Shinji (that I agree with) and gender in the show, but I'm sort of confused on what you think the show critiques and what y'all think the show is bad at? Like, if you talk about how Shinji acts towards Asuka in EoE, is that to a detriment of the film and you feel like it wasn't resolved?

Wrt gender, the show extensively critiques Shinji's misogyny, especially in end of eva. However, this can sometimes be difficult to spot for the first time viewer (especially if they're coming off of less complex media) because so much of the show is from Shinji's POV, and of course he justifies this to himself!

I'll go on record stating that I think end of eva is basically a perfect film, I wouldn't change a thing about it. You can argue it both ways wrt if Shinji's treatment of Asuka is resolved or not. I think the film would lose a lot if the most disturbing scenes (hospital scene, hell kitchen scene, and the beach scene) were removed. They're not detrimental, they're integral. Because the thing is, the show had been building up to these scenes showing us how Shinji objectified Asuka. Just go and rewatch episode 8 and 9, it's there from the start. But even before that, Shinji is making wackass misogynistic comments to Misato from episode 1. Is Shinji's treatment of Asuka resolved? Kind of? I'm erring on the side of no, because the last thing he does is collapse onto Asuka and start crying. But also I don't think that makes the ending of the film bad.

The main thing about asking if eva treats the women and girls in a misogynistic way is that, well, is this misogynistic writing or is it just writing that's true to life? I grew up in a home where my mom's life was habitually in peril, I'm no stranger to this stuff.

Asuka is repeatedly beaten down by the narrative -- the narrative allows Rei to get even with Shinji in a way that it refuses to Asuka. I wrote a post about this some time ago that you may have read. Even though Rei's situation is objectively worse than Asuka's the narrative respects her and uplifts her more.

Then there's Misato, who is complex yet also kind of sloppily written. But "complex" and "sloppy" in some ways are basically synonyms. What do I mean by this? Misato has the Electra Complex thing going on with her dad and Kaji. And then you also have her assault and weirdly seductive relationship with Shinji. So, you have two major, major flaws in her character. Then add the fact that Misato is at once attracted to her dad and becoming her dad. THEN add the thing with Shinji into the mix and things get super weird and messy. Because one thing eva excels at is that you can analyze characters through other characters (I have a post about this in the works), so it's like...was Misato's dad predatory towards her? Her seductive relationship with Shinji would suggest that. But the key word is "suggest" -- there's nothing outright in the show that states this. But there also doesn't have to be? It's A Lot, and there are lots of things in the show that are never explicitly stated yet are obvious.

Personally, I have analyzed the show's writing choices before in a sense of human beings sat down and decided to write these events into the show. That's necessary and valid, but looking at eva in-universe, I'm more inclined to interpret these events and traits as simply being true to life.

As far as more surface level critiques, the way the women and girls are drawn at times is just so yucky and objectifying that it really gets in the way of the show's attempts to develop these characters. Much of the nudity is unnecessary -- Utena tells a similar story focusing on abuse with only a fraction of it. However, I also really think people should quit huffing Utena and Ikuhara's farts. Utena also suffers from patriarchal entrapment, there's a good essay on ohtori.nu about it.

Does this make sense? It's ok if not. But I hope it does!

[karizard-ao3]

Okay!!! Why do you think Shinji decided to grow his hair out and how do you think people reacted to seeing it growing? Do you think he managed to tie it right the first time?

I really feel like he did it because he admires Kaji and because he sees how popular Kaji is with the ladies (Asuka especially???) so he wants to emulate him.

I feel like Misato is worried when he stops getting hair cuts, like he's trying to rebel and she doesn't know if she did something wrong as a guardian.

Asuka makes fun of him for looking sloppy but she also likes to give him pigtails when they're at home and try to braid his hair even though it's not quite long enough yet.

Rei is very much like, "If Shinji wants to have long hair then Shinji should have long hair. I will procure him some hair growth vitamins to help him."

Gendo doesn't notice.

And I do think Shinji managed to tie it right the first time. I feel like Asuka makes him help her do French braids and stuff, so he can manage a simple ponytail by that point

[radiohahas]

has anyone done any of these hxh fic crossovers

⇾ neon genesis evangelion x hxh

gon as shinji, combine a bunch of eva pilots for killua, bisky as misato, etc? obvs could keep gon's sunnier disposition but the abandonment trauma and general spiraling would basically stay the same (T.T)

⇾ banana fish x hxh

i think this one writes itself ... killua as ash, gon as eiji, probably ikalgo as shorter, kurapika and leorio as the "chaperones" ... make the gay subtext just text ofc ... but like yknow without all the [spoilers that i will not list - especially the end one], maybe change up some canon bf trauma stuff for killua (or not). the zoldycks could be swapped for dino, blah blah blah

--

i think i had one more floating around in my head but cannot recall. anyway, obvs these would be killugon. do you see my vision?

i do not have it in me to write either of these atm if they don't already exist (way too tired. have got other fics waiting patiently on the wings, etc. though, who knows the future, maybe one day i could get around to it) but i thought i'd just share bc they're fun to consider

[clambuoyance]

Do u want to talk abt ur ocs..... I actually followed you initially bc they seemed so interesting and silly and I want to know more if you feel like sharing :)

I still can’t believe some ppl follow me for my ocs bc it’s usually for my fanart so this is really nice to hear! I have a couple stories/universes but the main one I’ve been…developing (it’s on and off) since I was like 13/14 is about these two kids named Keiko and Rolin!! Im still doing a lot of world and lore building but the main gist is that Rolin is a teenage boy turning 16 who returns to his hometown to live with his aunt and meets a strange young girl named Keiko (debating on making her 10-12 idk she was originally 10). I won’t go too much into like Lore stuff but she has like..my own version of clairvoyance. They are kind of opposites, with Rolin being introverted and jaded, and Keiko being loud and optimistic but they are both silly.

I think it’s been said before but the whole driving relationship of the story is the two of them going on adventures throughout the city and solving mysteries while simultaneously becoming family and finding a real home within each other and the people they’ve met and learned to love 😚

Now the story is centered around Rolin and Keiko, but a big focus is on the cast of characters that fill mostly Rolins life. Mira and Artie were friends with Rolin when they were kids before Rolin left with his mom, and all three grew up and have been living their own lives, but when Rolin comes back they get a chance to reconnect (with Keiko’s help). Valoryn (Val) is also new in town, and befriends Rolin and Keiko. This is just a messy fast doodle of them I have better art in my oc tags🙏

Some old sketches

The other major cast is Rolin’s family, and Rolin has always been Asian so as I worked on the story his family kept getting more and more relevant especially with a major theme of the story being about the connections you have with people in your life so like I can’t leave them out. And I’ve never settled on an Asian ethnicity until recently where I was like I might as well make him Filipino so I can base his family off my own🫡 Cousins (both blood and not) that are years older than you but treat you like siblings and give u silly nicknames 🫶

Now Diana (or Deedee) is one of those characters I’ve had for a long time, and I made her because I liked those laidback mentor figures in anime (like Qrow from rwby) and wanted a laidback lady one 🤷🏻‍♀️ she also has some Misato from nge influence. She has always been written to be a mentor figure to Rolin and Keiko, and at one point I think I was going to make her his actual aunt but stuck to her being just a cousin so I could write about her relationship with her mom 🫶 Unlike her brother Darius, she does not live with her mom and Rolin has to go out of his way to meet her.

And Rolin’s parents’ story aren’t the main focus (they aren’t really present themselves in the main story) and it’s mostly just flashback stuff but they r silly and sad and I love drawing them 😼

I could go into more detail but that’s an overview of some of the characters

[seeds-of-life-daily]

how far does your seele rei au diverge from canon :0 if I may ask

Thank you so much for asking this !! Well, I gave it some thought, and I wouldn't say it would stray too far from canon, but some big changes would be made. One of which being, well, the main thing. That Rei gets raised by seele. I covered some of the changes it would make to Rei and Kaworu in this post I made a bit ago, but after giving it a bit more thought, I wanted to note down a few more changes I would make to canon in this AU. One of which, probably the biggest divergence in this au, is that Rei doesn't get forced/conditioned to take such a maternal and feminine role. Other than the usual maternity stuff that comes with having the soul of a progenitor, she wouldn't have to experience it with the intensity they do in canon. They also won't get sexualized, since that was another thing that I really disliked in Evangelion. Not to go off on a little tangent here, but when talking about canon, I really think Rei never really wanted to take on that kind of role. The femininity was something they were made to feel like she had to do. She was taught it meant to serve, to be complacent, to fill a role, and to mother. Whenever I think of Rei and femininity my mind always goes to that one Aradia gender meta, since the parallels between the two are insane, and it just voices basically most of my thoughts. In the seele!Rei AU I like to think that Rei's more self-expressive. Being reserved, but a helping hand because she wants to. I think they would also take part in their interest to learn more. We don't know too much about seele, but since we know they probably let Kaworu have access to music and human culture, I think Rei would also have the opportunity to indulge in more books, the internet, and so on. Also, since Rei isn't a clone of Yui here, she won't be subjected to Shinji's Freudy antics as much. She would still somewhat look simmilar to Yui, but this time not made from salvaged remains. Now, another thing I would change is letting Kaworu develop more as a character. In most adaptations of Evangelion, we only see him mainly interacting with Shinji. In this AU, he will not only have Rei as a sibling, but I plan to make him interact with Asuka and Misato too. I think a talk between Kaworu and Misato would be really interesting. Especially when she finds out he's an angel. Imagine meeting the kid that got created, and half of the population, including your dad, died because of that. An interaction with Asuka would be similar. Imagine meeting the guy who's here to replace you if you get worse at piloting. They would eventually get along, but at the start, I can definitely see some conflicts going on there. Since Rei's with seele here, they have both seeds of life in their custody, so it would be even easier for their instrumentality plans. While it's true that Lilith's still in the NERV basement, and Adam's still getting kidnapped (angel-napped?), seele can at least be sure that if one of them dies, at least there's another vessel to work with. (Speaking of which, what would happen if two instrumentalities happened at once? Maybe seele didn't think that Adam, in her embryonic state, could be enough to initiate one? Maybe they were too focused on the Dead Sea Scrolls that they never bothered to think of it?) While we're on the topic of instrumentality, they would totally try and rebel against it this time. After spending a good amount of time at NERV with the rest of the Pilots, I think they would attempt to go against the whole "everyone becomes one in the big primordial soup ocean" plan. Those are just the major changes I would make, but overall? Yeah, it would be canon-divergent, but it would still follow most of the happenings of canon.

[sepyana]

Noir 2001 Ep. 1-10 Thoughts

I really love her France Shirt dhshbd

I figured stopping at Chloe's introduction would be the best idea. From what I know this should be when the main plot picks up.

First, the bad:

The first episode was really jarring to watch. The cuts were awkward, the music was too loud at parts and certain scenes dragged out for too long. Maybe this is just me, but I didn't realize the music was coming from the watch until the end of the episode, which made things really confusing.

From then onwards isn't like this. Maybe I just got used to it, but the cuts didn't feel jarring and the flow between scenes was smooth enough.

There is a lot of reused animation, which is fine for the most part. It's not as elegant about it as shows like Utena but it's not a big deal.

What annoys me is sometimes the plot will screech to a halt to show you a falshback you have already seen before. Personally, I'm fine if a conversation is just one still frame or made of reused animation. The flashbacks and the occasional training is clearly there for budget reasons and nothing else. That's why it takes me out of the story sometimes.

Kirika and Mireille don't have much going on. They are pretty bland which makes it hard to care for them. The "I will kill you when this is over." thing is the most interesting bit. There is still plenty of time to develop them so I'm not that bothered about it.

The show feels rather empty at times, if that's the word. It feels like onthing is happening. For example: the information we get about the main mystery is not enough to make any conclusions or draw connections, so whenever a new development happens I can only think "Oh, we learned this now". We don't learn anything about what our protagonists are like either. The quiet moments are great for that, but I still feel like I know nothing about them.

I don't mind the censorship but it can be really funny sometimes. Kirika will get hit but her arm will look completely fine, making it impossible to tell how bad she was hurt until she reacts.

When I started episode 7 I genuinely though I skipped an episode. They don't make it even slightly obvious that a time skip happened.

This one is really stupid: I can't seperate Mireille from Misato in my mind. I'm sure Noir fans are annoyed by the comparison by this point but I'm really trying guys (ﾉД`)

Okay,, we can get to the good stuff now:

The atmosphere is great. The backgeound art is lovely and complements the animation well. They definitely achieved the aesthetic they were going for.

The soundtrack is pretty nice. Again, adds to the atmosphere.

Kirika especially can be super clever, making the fights fun to watch (only about 50% of the time though)

The composition of the shots draw your eye to the focus well. It's a good way to make shots interesting with a small budget.

It's fantastically homosexual, while also not being about romance at all. All the notable characters are women. That might add to the yuri vibes I guess.

I liked Silvana. She is one of the few side characters that have anything going on. Her relationship to Mireille is intriguing to me, they have met only once. But it's clear their one interaction has left a big inpression on not only Mireille but also her, especially since they were kids at the time. Her pulling out a knife and cutting the crown off of Mireille when she says she is scared tells us everything we need to know about her.

There is also something to be said about the crowns. Mireille's innocence being destroyed by Silvana. It's important to Silvana that she has control, removing the crown she gave to Mireille is a way fot her to feel superior, I guess. Even at a small age.

Mireille is still scared in their final confrontation, but she fights anyway.

I am very interested in Chloe because clearly, the two maidens who gover death are suppose to be Kirika and Mireille. However, she is insist she is Noir. I imagine things will go south when she realises that's not the case. (I doubt it's the case). The woman we see is most likely using her and Chloe is dependent on her validation. That's what I am guessing.

[raichubork]

GTO Review

Great Teacher Onizuka is a beloved and iconic series and in this post I'll talk about both the things I absolutely adored about it and my frustrations.

So, right off the bat I'm gonna mention that I don't often laugh hysterically while watching anime (or anything really) but somehow GTO managed to have a buncha moments so ridiculous that my only possible reaction was pretty much set in stone...

The humour and character writing are both plain genius!! I could never for the life of me predict what Onizuka's next move would be. His recklessness and luck, as well as his gullible and kind nature added a lot to his complexity as a character.

In the artistic department, we got the banger openings and EDs, the on-point animation and variation in facial expressions. In terms of voice acting, every VA fit well and every character's lines were delivered perfectly, tho my personal faves were undeniably Urumi and Miyabi. Kotono Mitsuishi's vocal range and her accurate French pronunciation were a pleasant surprise but I also liked the bite and seriousness Miyabi's voice had, while it was also laced with uncertainty and her screams in that parking lot were simply harrowing ngl, I was 🤏 this close to crying during that scene.

And now, about my frustrations that gave me mixed feelings on the series despite how much I enjoyed every episode, except for the Yoshikawa/Anko part in those last few episodes during the Okinawa arc. It was just unpleasant to watch, honestly. I think Yoshikawa's random personality change and his attitude towards Anko felt out of place, even though it can be ruled out as his pure kindness.

And either way, Giving Mukai and Yoshikawa romantic interests in order to call them "men" as if it's manly to...chase after a girl that's come to terms with the fact that you don't like her and save the one who's made your life living hell from certain death, respectively, just to ditch the subplots altogether and create loose ends kinda sucked tbh. It made me anticipate a lot of stuff that just didn't happen. GTO being a comedy manga (mostly) doesn't really excuse that, as some other series managed pull off some sorta closure to their subplots. My main example is Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou. Unlike with Mukai and Kujirakawa, who only get 1 singular episode together and their relationship never ever sees the light of day, "Literary girl" becomes a running gag in Danshi Koukousei.

Admittedly, I wanted and expected Fuyumi and Onizuka to get together because they're 2 consenting adults which at least kinda have chemistry but I'm convinced that Tooru Fujisawa either:

intended Onizuka to have commitment issues and despite him dealing with other people's problems he never gets his resolved, presumably because he keeps running away from them

struggles to write romantic relationships or doesn't know how to.

Onizuka's struggle to commit to romantic relationships (which is evident in both his relationship with Misato and the one with Fuyutsuki) never gets any closure, from what I've gathered.

The sexism was another thing that occasionally bothered me. While at times the perverted jokes were genuinely well-timed and maybe even funny, other times they felt very awkward, out of place, uncomfortable,, well you get it.

Some things aged poorly, simply put.

especially the ganguro stuff

On another note, the anime's ending kinda left me with a mild sour aftertaste. It felt like an Onizuka thing to do, but at the same time...how and why. Like FYM he's teaching in America now. Dude can't even speak English properly.

It also felt like the ending didn't allow for anything afterwards even tho the manga continues and ngl I'm personally not willing to read it becuz of the ending, Urumi and a few more things that didn't really get resolved.

Either way! It was overall a really fun watch, it gets a 7.8/10 from me

Toodles

[corpsepartyforbiddenrebirth]

helloooo how are you?? :D

i wanted to ask you if you have any "headcanons" (they're technically not headcanons i think but i wouldn't know how to call them) of the forbidden rebirth cast meeting the kisaragi students! either before or during heavenly host :3c

I'VE GOT A TON TO SAY ABOUT THIS SO I WENT AHEAD AND PUT IT UNDER A READMORE!!!

This is something I think about A LOT, especially due to how many references there are to the lore of the Misato students even within the canon game itself?? Like especially compared to some of the other schools! Some of them are easy to miss though so I first wanna talk about the ones that are canonically in the game before getting into my own headcanons!!

Yoshiyuki Shinohara is actually a voiced 'character' in Chapter 1, where he acts as the spirit who informs Naomi and Seiko about Heavenly Host! You can view the scene with voiced lines here if you're interested - he also appears in the manga as a spirit!

Additionally in Chapter 1, Shin Aichi is the one who tells you not to read the newspaper when you enter Classroom 3-A~ She also has a single voiced line, though it's just her crying rather than actually saying anything!

There isn't anything related to the Misato students in Chapter 2, but Chapter 3 is full of all kinds of stuff! First off, the obvious: you meet Kokuhaku here for the first time! Including both the manga and the games, Satoshi, Yuka and Morishige have all met Kokuhaku~ I always loved Yuka's sort of sweet little interaction with her in the manga too. To this day I'm so grateful she was even included 😭

Also in Chapter 3 are the Victim's Memoirs written by Kain Hagiwara! You can read the transcript for them here~ These memoirs can be read as both Satoshi and Kizami, but only Satoshi can read the final entry. Interestingly, these memoirs work differently from the other two as well - while the other memoirs place the reader into the writer's shoes, such as Yoshiki cannibalizing Ayumi just as the writer Nao Takahashi did to Emi Kudou, these victim's memoirs instead place you in the shoes of the subject! Kain spent much of her time writing about Mitsuharu Ohtaki, until she eventually passed after having her Achilles tendon severed. Mitsuharu's fate is never canonically elaborated on, but it is confirmed that he succumbed to the darkening. For the wrong end, Satoshi himself succumbs to the darkening in the same way Mitsuharu did... I get goosebumps thinking about it 🙌

In Chapter 4, Ayumi finds the body of Yuma Misaki, along with a paper next to her talking about her last moments, as well as mentioning the fact that Tomoe Mizuki entered the forest outside the school and never returned. This makes Tomoe the only character in the nametag list to have their death listed as unconfirmed!

And though Chapter 5 is somewhat lacking in Misato content, only finding Kokuhaku's nametag stuck to a plaster bust and Ken Fujii's nametag in the bomb shelter, there is actually an unused Kokuhaku sprite I dug up 9 years ago that's still in the files, even in the 2021 rerelease! I brought it up here with the blog memoriesoffear back then, and though there isn't any additional information behind it still, it almost makes it more fun to speculate. Could she have potentially been another of Kizami's victims? If she was, why was that scrapped? Out of all the corpse sprites in the game, this is one of the only ones where it's very clearly drawn to be a specific character - even Mitsuki and Tohko reuse the same corpse sprite, and they're minor characters themselves! There's so many questions~ I always wonder how it could tie in to her meeting the Kisaragi students...

Now in terms of Forbidden Rebirth, the Kisaragis themselves DO make a brief appearance! Although they don't directly interact with any of the Misato students themselves, they heavily impact the direction of the story in one of the final chapters. I wish I could say more, but this scene is pretty deep into the game and I totally want to keep it a surprise 🤫

And finally, in terms of my imagination... I have many ideas 😎

I can definitely see Ayumi getting along well with Tomoe and Yuma. She shares those same occult interests that Tomoe has, and a lot of her viewpoints on the world align heavily with Yuma's too! Her way of taking on everything by herself is a lot like the way Yuma handles her stressors as well. I think they'd be great friends 🙌

Naomi would definitely get along well with Kain. Their tomboyish sort of attitudes combined with how they both start to flounder when they're left on their own for too long would totally make them connect instantly! Naomi has got to teach Kain how to cook sometime...

Seiko, Tomoe and Akihiko together has potential to be the craziest combination ever. They're sort of the trio of energetic characters that cause all kinds of crazy scenarios around school. Tomoe also shares Seiko's love of child care! I also think Seiko and Yuma doing each other's hair is an incredible idea 😎

I think Mayu would get along PERFECTLY with both Himawari and Maki! Her 'school idol' sort of status would completely draw Maki in, and I can totally see them bonding over their love of reptiles once Mayu gets to meet Maki's pet iguana. Her and Hima share the same sort of "little devil" aspect too - like the scene in the Book of Shadows manga where Mayu pushes Yoshiki into Ayumi, that's totally something I could see Hima doing too!

Shin always enjoys situations where she gets to be the big sister, so I can see her having a lot of fun with Yuka~ She tends to see her little sister Kazuko in other young children she meets, and I just know she'd spoil Yuka like crazy and buy her anything she wanted 😭

I can see Satoshi and Ken getting along well - Satoshi is the sort of mild-mannered type that Ken respects a lot, and they're both very forgiving and understanding people who can step up and be a leader when it comes to their loved ones. They both sort of fit into the 'protagonist' trope very well!

I can't say for certain how they'd interact, but I definitely have Yoshiki, Mitsuharu and Yoshiyuki in their own little trio of "misunderstood delinquent" type characters. Yoshiyuki also works part-time and I just think it'd be so funny to put them on the same shift together. Though Mitsuharu much prefers to be a lone wolf, I think they'd totally bond over their music taste. Either that or he'd fight him to the death. I don't know which one's better.

Morishige and Hatto are both... people who are difficult to get along with. They're both easily susceptible to the darkening, and both have a grandparent they heavily relied on, Morishige's being his grandfather and Hatto's being his grandmother. I don't think they'd be friends, but the idea of them getting into a debate is hilarious to me. I want to see them interact.

Yui and Shinju Hagiwara share the same love of teaching and alcohol, and I just genuinely love the idea of them bonding over drinks honestly. I also think Kokuhaku would get along well with Yui - it's difficult for her to find people she can confide in, especially when it comes to teachers, but Yui just has that warm aura that would make her comfortable enough to ask for help.

OKAY... I'm stopping myself there before this post gets even longer than it already is!! This was so nice to think about though - I love all the students from Corpse Party and I still imagine in my mind what could have been if the Misatos had gotten to meet everyone in 2U... Only in my dreams... 😭😭

[duhragonball]

Neon Genesis Evangelion 11

Most of this episode is just characters restating the problem over and over.

Basically, Tokyo-3 experiences a power outage. The NERV base is also affected, which results in Misato and Kaji getting trapped in an elevator the whole time.

What makes this especially irritating is that the story keeps teasing interesting plot developments only to abandon them immediately. For example, the episode opens with Ritsuko and other NERV staffers discussing the three Magi supercomputers that run Tokyo-3's government. So maybe the blackout is tied in with the Magi? No, it's not. Ritsuko had planned to run tests on Eva Unit 00 today, so maybe that's what caused the blackout. No, it wasn't that.

Oooh, maybe Gendo Ikari sabotaged his own facility, as part of some weird scheme he's up to... nope, he doesn't know who did it either. He just knows it must have been a human enemy, which is ironic, since NERV is trying to save humanity from the Angels. Well, at least it'll be fun to unmask the saboteur... no, that never happens. If we ever find out who did this, it isn't in this episode.

Vice Commander Clownshoes points out how it would be disastrous if an Angel attacked at a moment like this, and that's exactly what happens. So you'd think this episode would be focused on getting the power back in time to fight the thing, but not quite.

Mostly, the focus is on Shinji, Rei, and Asuka as they attempt to enter the base without any power. Rei has emergency instructions in her purse, and Asuka declares herself the leader, and they bicker the whole way in. For some reason they crawl through ductwork, and it's kind of boring because it's not like anything will attack them on their own turf. There won't be a malfunctioning security system or anything like that, because the power's down.

As the Angel threat becomes more pressing, Gendo Ikari orders the Evas to be prepared for launch, using a diesel engine that was set up in case of emergency. We see him helping the others to set up all the stuff with pulleys instead of machines. I'm not sure how any of it works, but whatever.

So when Shinji arrives, he's surprised to find the Evas ready for use. Ritsuko tells him that his dad believed that the pilots would show up when they were needed, and so they did. Nice.

So when they're finally ready to deploy, the Evas have to ascend a vertical shaft, but the Angel is waiting above them, secreting a corrosive solvent down onto them.

They only have a few minutes of battery power to work with, so Asuka finally proves her worth and comes up with a plan. She takes her Unit 02 up into the shaft to defend the others. Rei goes down to retrieve the weapons they dropped earlier. Then she'll hand off the weapon to Shinji, who will open fire on the Angel. Asuka takes the defense job because it's more dangerous and she wants to repay Shinji for helping her out of that volcano in the last episode.

And it works! Another Angel bites the dust. I think this is the eighth one? It's enough of them that I've lost count.

With that settled, the kids chillax outside while they wait for the grownups to restore power to the city. Rei waxes philosophical about how humans fear the darkness, so they scrape away at its edges with fire. Whatever you say, kid.

[noraqrosa]

whenever i watch Neon Genesis Evangelion i alternate between relating most to Shinji, Misato, and Asuka (especially Misato in the last few years)

my life truly is a whole-ass mess, but 2021-2022 i went back and forth between making strides & improvements and wanting to just throw it all away on stupid, potentially irreparably life-ruining decisions. and, like Misato, i took a lot of refuge with the latter in exploring myself as a sexual person more than i ever had before, but overdoing it to the point where it was ruining my mental health. i was making decisions that led to me wanting to just completely degrade and debase myself, but like not in a fun way, in a dangerous way.

in a lot of ways, it was an extreme reaction to having grown up constantly trying to be a #GoodBoy, appeasing others to a nigh obsequious degree, trying to follow rules to the letter despite my incredible disdain for authority, constantly trying to make myself look like a model child while inside my brain was resisting all the way and rejecting all forms of conformity in sheer defiance and rebellion. i stopped wanting to be "good" because i stopped feeling any real semblance of good. i wanted to hit rock bottom as a person, wanting nothing more than to be used, abused, and left in (essentially) a state of dependency and no agency. i wanted to be seen as a "d*g*n*rate" freak who only cares about pleasure and ignores my own pain. i wanted nothing more than to be an object and nothing else.

this scene is always one of the from Eva scenes that guts me the most (don't watch if you don't want to be upset by media at the moment):

last time i rewatched NGE i straight up broke down crying at this part. it legit broke me because it was hitting at something i really didn't want to acknowledge in myself. and often still don't.

i've been trying very hard to work on myself over the past year, but it's hard when i'm homeless, mentally ill, and prone to actual literal psychotic episodes. i feel like it's always one step forward, ten steps back, and all that does is hurt myself and my loved ones. i need a space where i can really do all the necessary shadow work (so to speak) to get better, but i don't even know if i can trust myself to successfully do that even in a perfectly safe, cozy situation.

i don't hate myself. i used to, but i've finally come around to loving myself. i just hate the things i do and my worst habits that i have had the most trouble breaking. i don't have those self-destructively wild fantasies and pretensions of debasement (as much) anymore, partially because i have a partner with whom i've been able to work through that stuff in a far healthier way. but i am still very self-destructive and self-deprecating despite my best efforts. heck, i make inappropriate, self-deprecating jokes about my worst habits too much and all it does is piss people off.

i need to get better. i need to get better. i need to get better. i have no choice, and i don't want to be this way.

(oh yeah and being plural complicates this shit even further lol)

[xbuster]

When I say “do stuff to kids” I mean stuff that’s specifically romantic/sexual lol not just, otherwise messed up, lol. Also I have not watched evangelion so I’m not sure on the specifics of Misatos story. But if she kissed a kid she kissed a kid, yk. Which is a pedophilic thing to do. Which in my mind, you are allowed to call her a pedophile. It feels slightly odd to o get defensive against people saying a character who like sexually assaulted a kid is a pedophile lol

Again not being a hater heh. Respect to your viewpoint I just don’t really get it

I mean... If you haven't seen Evangelion, I don't think you have the necessary information on the character to make a judgment like that. The most focus we get on her romantic life is with an adult man named Kaji who she had gone out with in the past. It's all about her reconciling her feelings with him. She has a thing for Kaji, not Shinji. Pedophilia is an attraction to children. Misato has shown no attraction towards Shinji.

Also, I'm not getting defensive? I'm explaining to you the details that you are not aware of regarding this character. I even said I was creeped out by what Misato did to Shinji in End of Eva? Like Shinji masturbated over a comatose Asuka and every Evangelion viewer with a brain knows that's not indicative of Shinji's entire character. Characters can do bad things without those things defining them, especially when the circumstances are as fucked up as End of Eva's.

When Misato says they can continue it later, that's like the perfect proof that she didn't mean anything she did in that moment. She knew she was going to die, there would be no "later." It was a manipulation tactic and I haven't disagreed on the point that Misato manipulated Shinji. I don't even like Misato that much, I just need to make clear what her character arc is.

[countlessrealities]

@haus-der-mysterionmusen sent: “So, uh, do you have any plans for Christmas? My guardian always throws a party filled with instant food, holiday music, card games and like enough beer to get the whole bridge section drunk, so if you and your grandfather wanna stop by you're welcome. It’s probably gonna be a little awkward since her ex has also been invited, but I can kinda guess your grandfather likes that kind of drama.” Shinji offered with a frown.

At the question, Morty swings his legs a little from where they are hanging past the edge of the rooftop. It's an oddly calm day in Tokyo-3, so the two have managed to sneak away, to go hang out on top of one of the skyscrapers. The sky is clear and the sun is lukewarm enough, so it's the perfect weather to be in the open.

Deep down, the boy knows that he shouldn't be surprised. The holidays are quickly approaching, so it's just natural for them to be a subject of conversation. He doesn't mind, on the contrary, it's nice to talk about something normal for a change. Though, on the other hand, he's not thrilled about revealing how lame his Christmas plans are.

"S-Sort of? I mean, w-we do the same thing every year," he answers with a little, awkward shrug. "M-My paternal grandparents come over," no freaking way he'll mention Jacob, "M-Mom cooks the meal, D-Dad bakes dessert and...y-you know, we exchange presents an-and watch boring movies."

At some point he gets snatched away for an adventure, because Rick refuses to just sit and bear through the whole ordeal, but he can never tell if it's a good or a bad thing. Christmas adventures usually end up being...not good.

Maybe Shinji's invitation can be a good alternative to his and Rick's trip. They still get away from the family, but it's not to end up drenched in something disgusting or risking their lives.

"Y-You know, I think I'll come. I-It shouldn't be hard to convince Rick, h-he hates Christmas with the family anyway." Especially since he has to be around Jerry's parents. "I-I'll tell him about the booze an-and the relationship drama, 'c-cause yeah, he enjoys that stuff...w-when he's not involved."

He won't say it out loud, but he also has the suspicion that the scientist might have a crush on Misato, which alone would be enough to convince him to swing by.

"I-I'll let you know at what time we can come over."

[endogenesis-evangelion]

this is some good stuff!

i also want to bring up the molestation of asuka by misato, which happens right next to the viewer (and shinji) but is easily glossed over because it's played as lighthearted.

like. the majority of fans, even long term eva fans - especially long term eva fans - are going to look at that and say, the hell are you talking about? misato never molested asuka,

but it's right here. at the end of episode 10.

and i think this goes back to what you said here: not all abusers realise what they’re doing. not all abusers even have sexual intent. not all victims hate their abusers, and not all victims fully realise how inappropriate their abusers actions are.

but asuka does dislike it enough to protest. repeatedly. misato brushes it off - these subs give a translation more relatable to the english speaking viewer ("don't be such a baby"), whereas fans are historically used to the extremely weird-sounding "it (her crotch, presumably) won't wear out (just because i'm touching it)".

... i guess whoever originally translated the show put that in, because the original script has misato simply say,

いいじゃない♡ (yes, the heart was in the script) へるもんじゃなし

which are just various ways of saying "it's not a problem, it's fine" as she touches asuka.

and then the show gives us the punchline: pen-pen noticed that shinji got an erection.

for him, for misato, for many of the viewers, it's playful. but it's evidently sexual, and asuka is saying, don't. it's happening right in front of everyone, and they don't notice because they're socially acclimated to think this is funny, or silly, or normal.

but if everyone is having fun, you don't have to insist and protest "it's fine" while the person you're touching says "don't". the subtext in all cases is: stop protesting, this is normal, it won't hurt or change you. just go along with everyone else and let it happen.

kimochi warui, and all that jazz.

sorry before I go to bed I’m thinking bout the different ways Evangelion portrays csa.

asuka's (metaphorical) rape is done by a stranger. someone she doesn’t know. a literal monster. as someone who’s always prided herself on being able to fight, being able to always win, this shatters asuka, who feels such a thing makes her weak. she responds to her trauma by regressing, playing video games at her friends house and speaking to her like a young child, before shutting down entirely to the point of attempted suicide. she’s later sexually abused by shinji, taking his own trauma out on her, and while we don’t see as much of how that effects her, we see the tragedy of the cycles of abuse play out.

shinji's sexual abuse is done by a friend. he doesn’t realise it’s wrong, and misato thinks she’s helping, because he’s a boy and boys like that right? but misato not realising the harm of her actions do not make her any less harmful. there’s a lot of complicated feelings and emotions there, and it very much deals heavily with the complexities of abuse- not all abusers realise what they’re doing. not all abusers even have sexual intent (misato absolutely doesn’t see shinji in a romantic light at all, she's not attracted to him). not all victims hate their abusers, and not all victims fully realise how inappropriate their abusers actions are. yet, the abuse still has impacts- as seen with shinji's complete lack of sexual boundaries, to the point of assaulting asuka for a desperate sense of control. he recognises that it’s awful- it’s something familiar to him to a degree- but as a severely traumatised child, he lashes out and inflicts his own pain on others. which is not acceptable, obviously, but it’s tragic, and shows how abuse makes people worse.

and as for rei, she's abused by her own father. the signs are there, but they don't entirely click at first, and neither do they click to the adults who should be looking out for her. the sexual abuse she faces is overlooked even when it’s right under everyone’s noses. and when someone does put the dots together, they blame her for it. rei's abuse, like a lot of familial abuse, is either ignored or something she’s considered at fault for, despite being sheltered and groomed all her life, and, y’know, fourteen. rei's arc also focuses heavily on her conflicted feelings about her abuser, but in a different way to shinji. she, at first, idolises gendo. she's been groomed her whole life, and is incredibly isolated. what happens is normal to her, she doesn’t see it as wrong because she’s never been told it’s wrong. the idea of not having faith in gendo is alien to her. but as time goes on, she realises what happens isn’t special, it isn’t okay. by the time she dies and another version of her takes her place (the rei's share a soul, so they’re the same person even if rei iii can’t remember everything) she’s quietly furious at the idea of being a doll, and realises she can be more. when her abuser touches her, she literally tears off his hand. and she attains agency! that’s the final part of her storyline. she has agency, for the first time in her life. and she might have chose to listen to shinji on what to do, but she chose for the first time, it’s a massive step and honestly it really struck me as a beautiful ending to her character arc.

idk man. i just like how this mecha anime interrogates a sensitive subject from multiple angles and has genuinely suprisingly good depictions of even abuse that’s not recognised as abuse by most still. it’s nice! it’s refreshing. honestly, they committed to exploring abuse and never trying to apologise for it, and it’s fucking great. i'm personally not a csa victim, but i did go through sexual trauma at around the same ages of these characters, and i found myself relating a lot to their arcs around this due to that even if our experiences are pretty different. i felt aspects of how i dealt with things, especially in rei and shinji but to a degree asuka as well, and it made me feel more confident in myself. if shinji ikari can choose to live, so can I :)

[dolphs-world]

Komm Susser Todd is the best scene despite every other one with Kensuke

Evangelion. I think I love Evangelion. I know I like the Rebuilds. 3 sucks, despite the piano stuff. And I was really worried because the subverted Toji from getting injured but then you see he worked with Nerv. Thankfully, it was explained well in 4, but that gutpunch still sucked in 3. None of the new characters, besides Toji's sister, were needed. They also bog down 4 a bit. And Shinji did ruin everything. Not at the end of 2 but at the end of 3. 1 is superfluous and got rid of the best Kensuke moments. Lame! Although I preferred the Netflix VAs, I thought they were all good. Especially Shinji, he did not sound like an adult man, and Hikari as an adult. There's this annoyance I have with VAs of each sex, cool generic tough male in video games, and girlboss in cartoons. Hikari sounded completely realistic, like a random woman you met on the street, and I loved it. Misato's VA fucking sucked. She was decent when she was gruff in the later films but my god she sucked. I liked 2, I really liked the aquarium scene although it was sad that they hadn't set up Hikari at this point. 2 was a very good rebuild, although I missed a lot of Asuka's characterisation and the episode where Shinji and her had to get on the same wavelength. I think 4 was great. I've heard people say that Gendo doesn't really have a motive and I can't agree with that. But it is weaker and much more obvious. But they actually humanise him! And it's good! That whole segment is good. The literally staged battle with him and Shinji was the only good fight in the Rebuilds. 4 stood out because of how much unique characterisation they gave everyone. And it started to get a little confusing, which is good. The rebuilds did explain way to much, which doesn't really make sense after the first one. The people who know everything are the ones watching the Rebuilds. You can't really watch the Rebuilds without watching the original, I thought about this a lot. Whilst they try to explain a lot, they don't show enough for the these movies to make sense. The only good bid of worldbuilding is Gendo and Fuji going to to the moon. This can then explain how they got Kaworu on their side in the original as well. (Also, whilst it sucks that Asuka is now a clone as well, that's not how I interpret Kaworu. Intertwined with Shinji, not made for him. His consciousness moves between universes.) But, all the fights sucked. The fights were never a strong part of the original, it's like watching The Sopranos for the cunningness of the mafia, except for EOE because of high tightly that was connected to the characters. And all the new music sucked, especially that Third Impact song. What a joke! Speaking of jokes, Mari is a good "fuck you" to the weebs but she does suck. Isn't funny how she has big boobs? Also, whilst you can justify the sexuality of the original, it's just gratuitous in this one. Isn't it great how one of the last lines in all of Evangelion is Shinji talking about how big Mari's boobs are? Despite not really getting the ending of EOE, I think I did find this one more depressing. And it is mainly because of Asuka. She is the second most important character in the original, the only person who it makes sense for Shinji to end up with. And besides her relationship with Kensuke, she has nothing. No Hikari, no mother complex, not Kaji, no relationship with womanhood. She is more of a husk than Rei, a doll for Shinji. And she gets tossed aside for one with bigger boobs. Her ending is somehow sadder than in EOE. She has been given no second chance. I prefer the original.