... to the "Who is best girl in NGE" question:
It's Rei and here's why:
>ready to die (bushido)
>composes poetry (bunbu ryodo)
>vegetarian (buddhism)
>named after an imperial destroyer (ayanami)
>named after an imperial fighter plane, and one of the virtues of bushido (rei)
When will you see that Rei is a samurai? Rei is known as a Yamato nadeshiko in Japan.
Anno despairs about the decline of Japan after WWII into a "nation of children". As an otaku that hates otaku, Anno also struggles to reconcile himself with the fact that he's part of that process. When you understand this it makes sense why there are so many naval allusions in Eva and why Japan and Germany are leading the world, and why Rei self-immolates with a nuclear bomb. Rei represents the dying spirit of what Japan once was.
On one hand, I've always considered his resentment for Rei as a manifestation of his animosity for those who like Rei. His central statement is that Asuka presents a challenge to the Japanese otaku who desires to "return to the womb" a la Shinji. Rei, as a clone of Shinji's mom, is a veritable blank slate that some (many) unironically view as a " perfect, submissive, mass produced waifu." As such, his conception, if it was correct, would be valid; however, the issue in reality (and to Anno's presumed chagrin) is more complex than that. Anno experienced with Rei something that is analogous to death of the author. He, as he admits, developed asuka-centric tunnel vision that made him consider Rei to be a plot device and thus he lost track of precisely what he was creating. It's no surprise that he, as someone who put so much effort into crafting Asuka, was surprised when many came to appreciate Rei much more than (in his mind) his multifaceted, complex character.
What he fails to recognize is that one can still viscerally feel the beautiful and terrible tragedy that is Rei's existence - an existence so surreal that one is compelled to empathize with her and thus wish her nothing but the best. Her actions, to the dismay of Anno, speak louder than Asuka's carefully crafted words ever could.
It's Rei and here's why:
>ready to die (bushido)
>composes poetry (bunbu ryodo)
>vegetarian (buddhism)
>named after an imperial destroyer (ayanami)
>named after an imperial fighter plane, and one of the virtues of bushido (rei)
When will you see that Rei is a samurai? Rei is known as a Yamato nadeshiko in Japan.
Anno despairs about the decline of Japan after WWII into a "nation of children". As an otaku that hates otaku, Anno also struggles to reconcile himself with the fact that he's part of that process. When you understand this it makes sense why there are so many naval allusions in Eva and why Japan and Germany are leading the world, and why Rei self-immolates with a nuclear bomb. Rei represents the dying spirit of what Japan once was.
On one hand, I've always considered his resentment for Rei as a manifestation of his animosity for those who like Rei. His central statement is that Asuka presents a challenge to the Japanese otaku who desires to "return to the womb" a la Shinji. Rei, as a clone of Shinji's mom, is a veritable blank slate that some (many) unironically view as a " perfect, submissive, mass produced waifu." As such, his conception, if it was correct, would be valid; however, the issue in reality (and to Anno's presumed chagrin) is more complex than that. Anno experienced with Rei something that is analogous to death of the author. He, as he admits, developed asuka-centric tunnel vision that made him consider Rei to be a plot device and thus he lost track of precisely what he was creating. It's no surprise that he, as someone who put so much effort into crafting Asuka, was surprised when many came to appreciate Rei much more than (in his mind) his multifaceted, complex character.
What he fails to recognize is that one can still viscerally feel the beautiful and terrible tragedy that is Rei's existence - an existence so surreal that one is compelled to empathize with her and thus wish her nothing but the best. Her actions, to the dismay of Anno, speak louder than Asuka's carefully crafted words ever could.
