Many people get into a relationship as a way to compensate for something they lack or hate within themselves. This is a one-way ticket to a toxic relationship because it makes your love conditional - you will love your partner as long as they help you feel better about yourself.
What if it's the opposite and your the one that wants to be in a relationship just to help someone feel better about themselves? Like say the only reward you want out of this is just companionship so you don't have to feel alone anymore?
Lack of communication is the tragic aspect of Shinji and Asuka's relationship with each other and with everyone else. Apart from the forced and tense coexistence at Misato's house, the time they spent at NERV competing and the useless hours they spent at school, they did nothing else together. I almost started crying when I saw in Steel Girlfriend how the pilots interacted with Toji, Ken, Hikari and Mana, because damn, this is what they should have done in the series! They did not go out together or with their classmates to eat, go shopping, watch a movie, go out into nature or do anything else that would allow them to enjoy the beauty of the world and to learn to socialize with other people and introspect. Let them realize that there is something more than being an Eva pilot, that you can be happy with something as simple as listening to the birds and touching grass. Instead, Asuka already got off on the wrong foot on the aircraft carrier and made it worse every time she opened her mouth while Shinji didn't even try to strenght that connection. And not to mention Misato, who at no time lifts a finger to help the two teenagers open up or set limits for them, but does not even notify them about decisions that affect them, as if they were donkeys that she leads by the reins. Leliel, Toji, Arael, Kaworu, and the Third Impact were completely avoidable if there had been communication. NERV threw the pilots like kittens into a tub of water and were surprised to see them drown. What did they expect?
This kind of relationship was something I sadly experienced. It was frankly traumatizing, the miscommunication, the “wanting validation” can completely destroy people. Before you ever get into a relationship, please.. you shouldn’t seek only from your partner. validation comes from within. you need to love yourself and accept yourself before you can give love to others.
@@StrawberryFox56 it's always scary because they can say they love you but at the same time do very fucked up things to you and make you feel worthless and not important. Your brain starts rewiring you to help you but eventually you breakdown and let all your emotions come out. It's never okay to ever hurt or manipulate or even mentally and emotionally abuse or physically abuse anyone.
@@peacocktheradiodemon I was on the other end of that; I was the one dishing out the pain. The worst part was that I didn’t realize what I had done until after the damage was done. I buried my feelings and forgot the reason I acted as I did: self-interest and nothing else. For the longest time, I convinced myself that I had done it for other reasons, and while there were kernels of truth to those excuses, the fundamental fact was that I acted for myself. I went through plenty of pain discovering that truth because it meant I wasn’t a good person. I felt guilty and remorseful because I had uprooted and derailed the life of someone I cared deeply for, just as they cared for me. In the process, they saw me for who I was: a coward and a narcissist who was ugly all the way through. It hurt to know that she saw the real me, especially because I wasn’t who I thought I was or who I portrayed myself to be. I was merely a facade that I had pieced together to try to fit in, but nothing about me was genuine, and that was entirely my fault. I let her down and I let myself down. Since then, I’ve made peace with that. While I regret hurting her and derailing her life, standing around and wasting my life did me no good either. I spent years in depression and self-pity, regretting my actions until the world caught up to me. Recently, I’ve begun to draw an end to that past and to other similar experiences I’ve had. I’m realizing that feeling regret doesn’t absolve me of what I did. No amount of self-wallowing-though I might deserve it-will purify me. The only thing left is to move forward and become better. Standing still does not help; after all, indecision is a decision, one that brings pain and regret. Running from your problems, like Shinji does, is a recipe for continued misery. Until you learn to stop in the face of adversity, make peace with it, and then face and embrace it, you will never truly learn to live. Life is pain, and it’s only when we embrace it that we can fully live.
Your video gets the major points right, but there are a few things that are wrong. 18:35 Kensuke's relationship with Asuka is purely paternal, not romantic or sexual. That's why he appeared to her when she appeared as a child. 20:50 Asuka really only said she'd outgrown her crush on Shinji because she thought she was going to die in the final mission. Her reaction to his confession tells us that she does indeed still harbor feelings for him. 24:34 Shinji's relationship with Mari was never romantic, and this has been confirmed by people who actually worked on the Rebuild films, both staff and VAs. And finally, for the record....life is *not* a video game where your own personal demons must be vanquished before advancing to the next level "romantic relationship." In fact, they persist forever, and you simply learn to deal with them. While it's true that a romantic partner cannot deal with them for you, they don't preclude such a relationship at all, including one between Shinji and Asuka.
Also something I'd like to point out because it's something that a lot of people miss when talking Soryu Asuka and Shinji is that despite all the things they went through, she compliments Shinji. The very moment she enters the series, Shinji starts locking in. She literally makes him better. Shinji just has big demons, same as Asuka. EOE expresses the duality in the best way. At the end of the world, after we are stripped of everything and everything is nothing. Shinji chooses pain and heartbreak because you can't have that without love and joy.
For some reason when i first saw the anime as a kid i thought their relationship was somewhat realistic to how some people would be like if they're insecure or lack something that they have, but as an adult i had no idea it would go this deep
I agree until the last 3 minutes of the video. I think it’s painfully clear they both have feelings still for one another even by the end of 3.0 + 1.0. still unable to admit to the other that the feelings are still there, but you see it in their actions.
As a 33 year old man, this story hits different. I didn’t think I would relate to these characters but both of them communicate my deepest issues. Explains why my last relationship was toxic, to me. Thank you for the video.
Haven't seen the Rebuild films yet so I've got to stop at ~14:30, but i want to thank you for sharing this video. This is the first time I've come across the idea that the two final actions if either character in EoE was a direct attempt at communicating their feelings. Shinji finally taking the initiative, notably to a conscious Asuka this time, and her reciprocating that approach in perhaps her most gentle action across the series. This definitely gave me a bit to chew on and mull over i my head and i apologize for back-logging this video on the "to watch later' list for so long!
And people said that Sasuke and Sakura was anime's most toxic ship when one, Sasuke didn't even want sakura at all. He stated over three times in the series he doesn't even know why she love him and to leave him alone. Great analysis regardless. I never watched Neon Genesis Evangelion so its nice to see an analysis between Shinji and Asuka.
Heck... Asuka was my first true "anime crush", way back in 98, when 13 years old me first watched Eva. All I wanted back then was someone who would let me like them... And Asuka needed that. Time passes and now I'm fresh out of a 12 years relationship, with a girl though was the one. But, life happens, and as much as we still like each other, I think the same happened to us. A lack of maturity to understand what the other truly wants. In the end, I managed to find my "Asuka". Now, all I need is my Mari. Yeah, one can tell that Eva is an integral part of me...
there are worse anime relationships but eva's is tragic in that if they didn't deliberately make their pilot's worse things could've gone better for them with how it also shows anno's mental state going from comedic in a way to just purely bleak that in areas probably would've been a better ending for the og timeline if they just died like how originally it was going to be shinji at his friends graves with rei's torn off arm till asuka kicked it down with the final og end not being much hopeful(there's artwork of them in the world the next day after end of eva but with how the entire world went through the same process that wrecked most of the world/no real sign of people re-emerging from the lcl ocean or how long it'll take for them too/if animals got tanged as well doesn't feel like they'll survive long.).
@@thelastcrow5660In a fic called "Trust and Advice", they do end up together. But what really got my attention in that fic, is that the author is clearly trying to portray "toxic happiness". Yes, they're better humored, and Rei is kinda their pseudo-daughter, and they integrate Kaworu in their dynamic...But Asuka herself admits they're too co-dependant on each other. She just doesn't care. For now, that is. Kaworu is showing why co-dependency is not good either. And Rei already did what she could. But she can't do anything further.
Sometimes i think the struggle of self validation is reflecting on what you consider to be "worthy of love" and whether the issue is with that critera or a biased or unrealistic perception about yourself and others matching that criterea. Because I know others and have my self experianced the hypocrisy of loving people without a second thought toward "flaws" that I'd shame myself for. And at the same time have had to mature to learn to accept certain other flaws in others that I would look down on them for or refuse to identify in myself for fear of having to hate myself.
Never watched this anime before, but it did convict me. It makes me want to stop hating myself and treating myself so terribly. I didn't know it can lead to such horrible acts against other people, but I can honestly see how Shinji got there. I want to change before my own toxic thought pattern hurts others.
You're taking the first steps. But it's impossible to do it alone, and that's also why those kids failed so miserably in self actualization. In fact, Asuka only gets better after she is forced to learn to communicate with people after 14 years, based on the true necessity that comes from the disaster. So I think talking about this with a friend, and making new friends to open up with them after some time building trust on both sides, is key to become a better person. You should find someone who listens to you, as well as learning to listen other people. Getting biblical here as it is part of it Evangelion, last week's Parashat was about Joseph, who his brothers resented for him interpreting his own dreams, in which he was destined to become important. He only was respected after spending 20 years locked up, and learned to listen to other people's dreams and interpret them, instead of just focusing on his own. Meaning, we need someone like Joseph in our lives, that could be a therapist. But we also need to learn how to be like him. Empathy is a two-way street
I see that final scene as Shinji essentially throwing a tantrum. He’s frustrated, confused, and has only been taught through violence and abandonment. And that is as expressed with his chokehold. However, in this moment and only this moment, rather than violence or anger being her first response like usual, she instead (for the first time) expresses care by holding and embracing him. And this is so extremely crucial for both characters, as Shinji is usually the submissive one and Asuka is more violent and abrasive. However in what seems to be there last moments, the juxtaposition goes full circle to express how they really are inside. Asuka, only wanting love, chooses to embrace Shinji in what is seeming to be her last moments, while Shinji caves into his impulses and lashes out, just like his father would. And there is a tragic irony to the reversal. Asuka has once again been abandoned, abused, and thrown out by someone she loves. While Shinji is the abuser, who takes out his misery on women, just like his father.
There's an amazing video made years ago, that felt a bit like conspiracy theory, connecting all the media produced on Evangelion as a single story. Turns out the guy was spot on. Anno said once that Evangelion is a story that repeats itself. Kaworu in Rebuild expected Shinji to be the same person, and he knew the outcome. The whole world would be destroyed and the timeline would reboot. My own personal interpretation is that the universe in Evangelion will never have end, so at some point, everything will be as the were one day. But it could be just a sequence of timelines after the world is destroyed each time. In any case, the whole world was stuck in a destruction loop thanks to Shinji never maturing and facing his own issues. Up until the end of Rebuild. Shinji learns to be a better version of himself, and finally having the agency to mature. That surprises Kaworu, making him proud of Shinji. he did the unexpected. Finally the whole world around Shinji can move on and so can he. And that's how it is for most of us, right? When we're stuck, it feels like the whole world around us is stuck to, until it collapses. I also thought of what happens around Shinji more as a representation of one's surroundings when in a bad mental state. It's an analogy that fits. I don't think Mari and Shinji are in love, but surely in a healthy relationship. It doesn't come across as romantic, but as trusting friends, who are free to be themselves. I see Mari more as a potential FWB, but definitely someone who wants to see the best version of Shinji. Maybe they will be in love someday. But they are now friends who tease each other easily especially because there are no strings attached. I think Shinji has yet to find true love, and he will. Because he learned to love himself. and the whole world is thankful, even if they don't know it
When discussing the hospital scene with the voice actress for Asuka, Anno described Shinji's act almost as if it was an alternative to sexual assault, something he did instead of directly SAing her. The voice actress responded by saying it was in any case "disgusting." Anno went with this, and made "disgusting" the last line of End of Evangelion, to reflect Asuka's perspective on it when she comes back and somehow recalls what happened. Make of this what you will.
Funny enough,if you want to see an AsuShin Relationship that actually works,Xenogears has Fei Fong Wong and Elehaym Van Houten who fills the roles of Shinji and Asuka respectively.
im ngl when i seen this anime i knew there was something wrong with him but when i saw the hospial scene i was like "hes doing to much" but yet i dont hate him because i feel like its because of his father
It’s an extremely complicated set of emotions that he’s feeling. The action itself is of course reprehensible and completely immoral, no one is debating that, however, the mentality behind why he did the action is so layered with many different themes.
The hard part is seperating the underlying problems and symbolism from the metric megatons of trauma in the events of the show. For shinji, he was actually improving and making gains, but it always goes wrong at the Eva 03/Baradiel incident and the aftermath of Zeruel's attack, it all goea downhill rapidly feom there. Specifically in terms of a relationship Asuka was never going to get over Shinji proving utterly his superiority during the Zeruel attack and Shinji was already in massive shell shock from hurting/killing Toji and then getting his mind peeled like an onion for a month by mecha mommy, and then it got worse for both. Its a tragic and desperate love between broken people, but in a lot ways you still want it to work out
The biggest reason I love Evangelion so much is that I relate to it on a really strong level. I was in a situation with a girl just like this in highschool and it fell apart in an extremely similar way. One person I saw on EvaGeeks wiki summed up Evangelion perfectly: "If the kiss was successful, then the 3rd Impact wouldn't have happened." There's 2 times in the show where Shinji and Asuka attempt to kiss, but both times, it failed. And the idea is that if they DID kiss, then they could have worked together similar to how they did in that one episode and neither of them would have fell apart towards the end of the series. They both have insecure attachment styles- Asuka having the Fearful Avoidant style (also known as Disorganized) and Shinji having the Anxious Preoccupied style. Basically, one fears inevitable betrayal and the other fears abandonment. I, myself, have the Fearful Avoidant attachment style. What it comes down to (as many other in the comments are saying here) is communication. If they were capable of telling the other person how they felt, then it wouldn't have ended up with people both of them getting hurt. This is true in both their situation and mine. There is a bravery necessary to trust in others- especially when you have traumas that discourages the concept of trust. But, it's necessary in order for love to be possible...
@gendochikito2111can you give me more examples of how they're besties in the manga, please ? I heard the manga is the very first timeline, before the loops started.
This is one of those subjects you can find out a lot about people from. It has shifted a little. Just a little. But for the longest time. This relationship was depicted as completely one-sided by the fandom. That Shinji was nothing but a horrible person in full control of his actions. And that Asuka was an innocent victim with no control over hers. Needless to say this attitude is, was, and will alway be an expression of sexism. They both did horrible things. As much as people like to harp on what Shinji did in that hospital room. Next to no one will call out how Asuka forced a kiss on him earlier in the series. Or how she "explained" some school work in a way that clearly constitutes sexual harassment.
I fell into this unwittingly with my sister's bf. He and i began a toxic affair. When i rewatched Eva during that time, i couldn't believe how similar i was to asuka and he to shinji. We finally got to a point where i decided to leave and make ammends to those i hurt.
In a fic called "Trust and Advice", they do end up together. But what really got my attention in that fic, is that the author is clearly trying to portray "toxic happiness". Yes, they're better humored, and Rei is kinda their pseudo-daughter, and they integrate Kaworu in their dynamic...But Asuka herself admits they're too co-dependant on each other. She just doesn't care. For now, that is. Kaworu is showing why co-dependency is not good either. And Rei already did what she could. But she can't do anything further.
I've noticed that feminists, queersexuals, and other non-hetronormative folks often heavily criticize traditional hetrosexual relationships as being too codependent.
It was one of the most Painful Relationships yet, But its something to learn from it rather then being a Coward, But Accepting despite what happended to each of here own Traumas...
I have mixed feelings on your opinion of the beach scene but I may have simply misunderstood. As a women who has faced violence very similar to what happened within that scene I don’t feel that it’s appropriate to say that any level of bitchiness on her part was at all the problem simply because violence is never an appropriate reaction in those situations but at the same time I understand what you mean.
I am glad that Rebuild is in a different continuity, because I don't really like where it ended Asuka and Shinji's bond. I prefer the open-ended and interpretive conclusion of the og as opposed to the "they're toxic so they don't end up together" conclusion of the Rebuilds. It almost feels like a cop-out in a wierd way.
I love the open-ended in EOE and to me I like to think maby just maby they will actually grow for the better together or at least learn to be real friends
I always thought Shinji and Asuka were better off as friends who acted like siblings. Shinji and Rei would be the ones I thought to be in a full on romantic relationship as they both experience the same amount of trauma from piloting the EVAS not saying Asuka doesn’t have trauma but she hides her trauma with a fake persona which makes her more like a sibling to Shinji. But I guess Shinji just like all the girls because both of them could be seen as a romantic relationship 😂
Shinji only lusted after the girls. His heart's true love beated for someone with a more musical humming to his surroundings. Also, Rei barely knows what she wants/needs for herself, not to mention she's a hommunculus based mostly after Yui. Don't you think it's cruel for both her and Shinji to tie them down like that ?
The love between Shinjin and Asuka was so toxic that the developers rebooted the manga to create a new character to end up with Shinjin 😂 😂 It's a shame that the original manga didn't finish their story. i guess they love each story but they needed to overcome their trauma to express their feeling. would they end up together in the original story will be left to the fans interpretation?
In other parallel universe yes I would think shinji and asuka would be a good couple if they just worked together and expressed how they feel if they didn’t hold anything back on episode 9 it shows. But then again the insecurities the lack of chemistry and past trauma that these two face would not allow it. As much as I love these characters to be together I could definitely see how it would never work because of how toxic it has gotten. We gotta talk about misato as well as being a guardian she’s not really a good fit to be in the role of raising two children who’s only purpose is to pilot the Eva especially everyone in it are forcing kids to go up against giant monsters just to save the world it’s a pretty messed up thing. Story short I think the rebuild did a good job the ending was satisfying and both parties moved on and got a happy ending as the rest of the crew so yeah.
2:47 why kaworu is the best love interest to choose from. Rei is also good love interest, but it’s kind of weird because Rei is a clone of Shinji‘s mom. 4:46 is kind of cute how these two are one of the same 9:57 nvm asuka might be the best love interest and the worst love interest 13:36 oop😅
@@ayeeenylah1685 I will say Rebuild Kaworu is totally different and actually does care about Shinji, and literally died for him. One of the only characters who was actually more depthful in the Rebuilds than the original.
I doubt that Anno has just ONE interpretation of what he created in Evangelion - for starter, Hideaki Anno changed during the production of the original series and even more by the time he got to do the various movies.
Anime: I don't think Asuka really is in a relationship with Shinji. After all, she told him "No" when he asked for 'help'. Manga: Absolutely some moments where they had something including him sassing to her. "When I'm Right, I'm Right". And they reunited on a train platform after The End.
Watching NGE, I never really thought Asuka loved Shinji. She hated him because he was everything she wanted to be, because to her Shinji invalidates her existence. She only wanted Shinji's affection to make herself feel better, we see that she seeks superficial sexual encounters to satiate her ego. And honestly I don't think Shinji really loves Asuka either, because he too seeks physical intimacy and validation. The only thing bringing the two together is a mutual loneliness, a need to be needed
I think it started off as a real affection but their lack of communciation hindered anythibg more, plus her anger towards Shinji's victories (and praise by Midato) reeks of envy at its most viceral was she annoyed by him? yep, to be frank the entire school is full of obnoxious teens, would she have ever genuinely harmed him? outside of petty insults and the occasional slap, no, they're kind of dumb and their other shells are deceiving to each other
I wish the series had enough time for them to establish some kind of healthy relationship, they do a good job of showing the problems with human relationships but i’d like more of the good
I think that in some ways she was more toxic to him than he was to her even though they were both toxic and a glaring example of this( which I'm pretty sure that asuka is infamous for in the anime community)is punching shinji right after barging into his room without permission , waking him up and noticing that he had morning wood!!!
What if it's the opposite and your the one that wants to be in a relationship just to help someone feel better about themselves? Like say the only reward you want out of this is just companionship so you don't have to feel alone anymore?
big problem there Because you're doing this to fight off loneliness, you are more likely to tolerate some things you really shouldn't because " it is better than being alone." Most times, you won't even call it out, which you should really do if you care about a sincere relationship.
Honestly he didn’t have to end up with anyone. Shinji’s story is about self acceptance, love and connection is just a byproduct of his true goal of learning to accept himself.
If I had a dollar for every otherwise well written video essay about Evangelion where the narrator mispronounces the names, I could afford more Eva model kits.
In a world like Eva, where even seemingly well adjusted characters like Kaji are fucked, let's just call a spade a spade Mari is a Mary Sue, literally there in the name, and the stand-in for the wife of a man who feels he needs to remake a series to "correct" his old worldview Brother, YOU didn't change, you just got rich
Oh gee thanks TH-cam for deleting a comment that had nothing flaggable in it? Anyway y'all don't even know the real story for evengalion or how far they started from the manga making this anime It's not an introspection of human behavior It's literally a passion project and the meaning of it is to never give up That's literally it
The only bigger POS in the universe than Shinji Ikari is his father and mother which means he was well written for his part. Shinji and Asuka's relationship was trauma bonding at best between two damaged angsty hormonal teens forced together in an impossible situation no sane person would endure or tolerate. Shinji is so pathetic everyone that meets him tries to reach out in pity before realizing he's such a POS and gives up damaging Shinji even more and reinforcing his bent mindset. Asuka and Shinji were like emotional black holes who were trapped in each other's inescapable gravity of pain slowly tearing the other apart the more they interacted. The rebuilds seemed like maybe the creator felt bad for dumping his IRL mental problems on the audience spreading his trauma like a disease. He tried to redeem the story in some way after personal changes of view to give some closure for the audience. Maybe he felt like Kubrick who got tired of explaining 2001 to people that were still trying to find all the metaphorical easter eggs years later and wanted to end it. I remember when we saw evangelion in high school when the hospital scene happened, we turned it off and didn't pick it up again for a few months but eventually had to find out if there was a point to such a twisted tale and the ending was just as WTF. Our only consensus was while it was an artistic masterpiece it needed to come with a surgeons general warning label on the box like a toxic substance or cigarettes that could do harm to the consumer. Looking back on it and the state of things and knowing Eva obsessed Otaku that sentiment seems truer than ever. We almost stopped watching this new anime stuff all together back then because of this series. Thankfully the limited imported anime in the states at the time you could get brought us a real treasure of a series that redeemed the genre: The Record of Lodoss War.
@@attiepollard7847 Farther out there than Voyager 1. If that were true Asuka would have been a male pilot and played out the same. Anime has no shortage of toxic bromance frenemies that look like classic homosexual repression, but Shinji did not act that way and he would have tried harder to fit in. Shinji lacked the capacity for normal interpersonal relationships of any kind including platonic ones because he had no good role models or got to experience healthy relationships. Everyone in his life was put there to manipulate him even his school friends before NERV picked him up. Any sense of normalcy he may have observed living with his fake family would have been shattered the second he came home and watched his fake parents abandoned him for a briefcase full of cash and handed him over to NERV. That event started the crack in what he had of any sanity and his first meeting with Gendo started its chain reaction of fracturing more and accelerated by Misato and Asuka's plus his battles with Angels in his mecha mother. As heinous as Gendo was his mother Yui was actually the true mastermind villain of the series. Everything that transpired was because of her selfish ambitions and hubris and insecurities. Seele and Gendo and Shinji were tools for her plan. Shinji's only redeemable act was part teen rebellion rejecting mom's instrumentality project once he knew the truth when all minds were merged. It was the first decision to take agency for himself instead of doing what others wanted. The whole series is a Freudian buffet.
@@eltreum1 they have Kaworu Nagisa - Fifth Children who seems to be popping up in every single property of neogenesis and it seems that he has always been chasing after him. That's why I asked are they trying to push for him to have a homosexual relationship with this guy. Or maybe I can believe this they just don't want this kid to grow up because there are young youth like him who went through some lots of bull crap but they overcame it.
@@attiepollard7847 Ano said the OG series was inspired as a product of his depression. When he recovered and later got married his perspective changed and rebuild was a way of wrapping up a sense of closure. Kaworu and Mari are largely there to break the instrumentality project cycle and to teach the lessons that give the characters through a healed and matured Shinji (Ano) new beginnings aka a Neon Genesis. Kaworu is a child of Adam instead of Lilith so I guess it could be argued he was drawn to Shinji as Adan is to Lilith in some way but that causes Armageddon. The producers never alluded to that being a factor in the story when discussing the project afaik but said rebuild is a realm of interpretation. He was trying to help Shinji make a decision that didn't involve him dying and waking up in a coffin on the moon over and over again and ending the battles. His sacrifice by wearing the bomb collar was to tech Shinji not to live at the cost of others. He took his time letting Shinji he was okay since he has a cemetery of bodies on the moon, I guess. Asuka's relationship with Shinji was to teach them to be honest with others and consider their feelings. Rei was to teach a partner is not a replacement for a parent or doll to play with. Shinji ends up with Mari giving everyone a clean slate in life on their own paths. In the time skip the kids do not physically age until the end which was a metaphor of their arrested development until they resolved their issues appearing older in the end as they go their own ways finally free.
@@eltreum1 but he's popping up in every property after researching this thing for 2 hours and we have come to the conclusion that he has the hots for this shinji..
Wow first time seeing anything about this series, yet these characters are a visual representation of some negative traits I have. Something new to learn about thank you.
Same and if you want a story with them getting together read Angelic days it's a alternate timeline where it takes place after ep 26 or at least the happer alternative world Shinji saw in that episode
I still call this the worst relationship ever. About Asuka even fell in love with Shinji, in the words of Dr. Emmett Brown… “What does she see in that kid?!”
@@ThiccFurryBoi34...How old is Mari ? I never watched the Rebuilds, never will, but I am reading a fic that includes her character, so maybe I should know more about her.
@@ThiccFurryBoi34...Then why does she look like s teen ? More importantly, her mindset looks very much like an adult's in the clips ! Why is she dating a teen ! It's official ! The Rebuilds are an abdomination !
My cynical interpretation from a storytelling perspective is that Asuka represents typical juvenile boy fears about how a desirable yet bullying girl might treat you. While Shinji, from Asuka's perspective, may represent the frustrations of being sexually curious as a girl, yet unable to do anything about it as aggressive pursuit is not a girl's role traditionally, and is not a vulnerability that Asuka is prepared to have in any case. Naturally, Asuka being Asuka, she responds by getting angrier all the time and blaming Shinji. And Shinji being Shinji, he collapses emotionally and lashes out. For all the talk of what Shinji did around Asuka though, she technically SAed him first by kissing him without consent. They both had trouble with expression, and ended up doing weird things as a result. I personally recall seeing fellow middle schoolers fumbling about in similar ways in real life.
Hot take: I honestly hated NGE when it first came out, and after trying to rewatch it a few times I'm still not the biggest fan. I honestly feel like it's too full of itself sometimes.
Why is everyone here putting Rei as an alternative to Asuka ? Where are my "Kaworu" compatriots ? Edit: Ok, but being serious now. Rei barely knows what she wants/needs for herself, not to mention she's a hommunculus based mostly after Yui. Don't you think it's cruel for both her and Shinji to tie them down like that ?
They just need therapy
Alot of therapy
Evangelion would be so short if they all got therapy
@@LukewarmTakesYTtrue
That would of solve everything about their issues, even if its slow.
Prolly 1000 epsiodes of pure therapy@@LukewarmTakesYT
One of the most ignorant phrases a human can utter.
Many people get into a relationship as a way to compensate for something they lack or hate within themselves. This is a one-way ticket to a toxic relationship because it makes your love conditional - you will love your partner as long as they help you feel better about yourself.
This is the exact case with Shinji and Asuka
@@LukewarmTakesYT can you make a video on bleach
What if it's the opposite and your the one that wants to be in a relationship just to help someone feel better about themselves? Like say the only reward you want out of this is just companionship so you don't have to feel alone anymore?
@@tomo8940that’s even worse pls don’t make that mistake.
@reddboytv1332 too late :( (been like this for years and am probably gonna suffer in silence until I die)
Lack of communication is the tragic aspect of Shinji and Asuka's relationship with each other and with everyone else. Apart from the forced and tense coexistence at Misato's house, the time they spent at NERV competing and the useless hours they spent at school, they did nothing else together.
I almost started crying when I saw in Steel Girlfriend how the pilots interacted with Toji, Ken, Hikari and Mana, because damn, this is what they should have done in the series!
They did not go out together or with their classmates to eat, go shopping, watch a movie, go out into nature or do anything else that would allow them to enjoy the beauty of the world and to learn to socialize with other people and introspect.
Let them realize that there is something more than being an Eva pilot, that you can be happy with something as simple as listening to the birds and touching grass.
Instead, Asuka already got off on the wrong foot on the aircraft carrier and made it worse every time she opened her mouth while Shinji didn't even try to strenght that connection.
And not to mention Misato, who at no time lifts a finger to help the two teenagers open up or set limits for them, but does not even notify them about decisions that affect them, as if they were donkeys that she leads by the reins.
Leliel, Toji, Arael, Kaworu, and the Third Impact were completely avoidable if there had been communication.
NERV threw the pilots like kittens into a tub of water and were surprised to see them drown.
What did they expect?
what NERV they had
It sadly resembles most relationships now. Lack of communication severely damages relationships
Relationship is a STRONG word here.
I’d say they do have a relationship, albeit an extremely toxic one
Relationship does mean more than romantic. Everyone has relationships with each other even if hated
@@BullFrogFaceUnless they don't even know eachother or do so from others worlds.
I know right; from what I remember they were about as compatible as oil and water, and could barely stand to be in the same room.
@@BullFrogFace Sad but true
so toxic yet beloved by many fans
I like how your time stamps reference the way Evangelion movies are titled 🤓
Thanks for noticing the time stamps!
‘Beloved by many fans’ just as how the Simpsons were beloved by many fans
This kind of relationship was something I sadly experienced. It was frankly traumatizing, the miscommunication, the “wanting validation” can completely destroy people. Before you ever get into a relationship, please.. you shouldn’t seek only from your partner. validation comes from within. you need to love yourself and accept yourself before you can give love to others.
Also look out for red flags and always be cautious on the person you love because behind closed door's they are different people.
@ you are absolutely right
@@StrawberryFox56 it's always scary because they can say they love you but at the same time do very fucked up things to you and make you feel worthless and not important.
Your brain starts rewiring you to help you but eventually you breakdown and let all your emotions come out. It's never okay to ever hurt or manipulate or even mentally and emotionally abuse or physically abuse anyone.
FACTS
@@peacocktheradiodemon I was on the other end of that; I was the one dishing out the pain. The worst part was that I didn’t realize what I had done until after the damage was done. I buried my feelings and forgot the reason I acted as I did: self-interest and nothing else. For the longest time, I convinced myself that I had done it for other reasons, and while there were kernels of truth to those excuses, the fundamental fact was that I acted for myself.
I went through plenty of pain discovering that truth because it meant I wasn’t a good person. I felt guilty and remorseful because I had uprooted and derailed the life of someone I cared deeply for, just as they cared for me. In the process, they saw me for who I was: a coward and a narcissist who was ugly all the way through. It hurt to know that she saw the real me, especially because I wasn’t who I thought I was or who I portrayed myself to be. I was merely a facade that I had pieced together to try to fit in, but nothing about me was genuine, and that was entirely my fault. I let her down and I let myself down.
Since then, I’ve made peace with that. While I regret hurting her and derailing her life, standing around and wasting my life did me no good either. I spent years in depression and self-pity, regretting my actions until the world caught up to me. Recently, I’ve begun to draw an end to that past and to other similar experiences I’ve had. I’m realizing that feeling regret doesn’t absolve me of what I did. No amount of self-wallowing-though I might deserve it-will purify me.
The only thing left is to move forward and become better. Standing still does not help; after all, indecision is a decision, one that brings pain and regret. Running from your problems, like Shinji does, is a recipe for continued misery. Until you learn to stop in the face of adversity, make peace with it, and then face and embrace it, you will never truly learn to live. Life is pain, and it’s only when we embrace it that we can fully live.
Your video gets the major points right, but there are a few things that are wrong.
18:35 Kensuke's relationship with Asuka is purely paternal, not romantic or sexual. That's why he appeared to her when she appeared as a child.
20:50 Asuka really only said she'd outgrown her crush on Shinji because she thought she was going to die in the final mission. Her reaction to his confession tells us that she does indeed still harbor feelings for him.
24:34 Shinji's relationship with Mari was never romantic, and this has been confirmed by people who actually worked on the Rebuild films, both staff and VAs.
And finally, for the record....life is *not* a video game where your own personal demons must be vanquished before advancing to the next level "romantic relationship." In fact, they persist forever, and you simply learn to deal with them. While it's true that a romantic partner cannot deal with them for you, they don't preclude such a relationship at all, including one between Shinji and Asuka.
i couldnt find that Mari and Shinji are not romantic. But every where i looked i found people saying they are together. please give source
The last thing you said is very much true. We’re never going to be perfect.
Life is the ultimate game. You just don't get a continue after you die 😂😂😂
Also something I'd like to point out because it's something that a lot of people miss when talking Soryu Asuka and Shinji is that despite all the things they went through, she compliments Shinji. The very moment she enters the series, Shinji starts locking in. She literally makes him better. Shinji just has big demons, same as Asuka. EOE expresses the duality in the best way. At the end of the world, after we are stripped of everything and everything is nothing. Shinji chooses pain and heartbreak because you can't have that without love and joy.
This was incredibly well-made. I love the perspective.
Thank you!
For some reason when i first saw the anime as a kid i thought their relationship was somewhat realistic to how some people would be like if they're insecure or lack something that they have, but as an adult i had no idea it would go this deep
Asuka; "Why doesn't he pick up on my hints"
The hints;
I agree until the last 3 minutes of the video. I think it’s painfully clear they both have feelings still for one another even by the end of 3.0 + 1.0. still unable to admit to the other that the feelings are still there, but you see it in their actions.
As a 33 year old man, this story hits different. I didn’t think I would relate to these characters but both of them communicate my deepest issues. Explains why my last relationship was toxic, to me.
Thank you for the video.
Haven't seen the Rebuild films yet so I've got to stop at ~14:30, but i want to thank you for sharing this video. This is the first time I've come across the idea that the two final actions if either character in EoE was a direct attempt at communicating their feelings. Shinji finally taking the initiative, notably to a conscious Asuka this time, and her reciprocating that approach in perhaps her most gentle action across the series. This definitely gave me a bit to chew on and mull over i my head and i apologize for back-logging this video on the "to watch later' list for so long!
Key takeaway for me was "you can't love someone else until you learn to love yourself first."
Which sometimes means never. That's okay.
@@vivvy_0 💯💯💯
And people said that Sasuke and Sakura was anime's most toxic ship when one, Sasuke didn't even want sakura at all. He stated over three times in the series he doesn't even know why she love him and to leave him alone.
Great analysis regardless. I never watched Neon Genesis Evangelion so its nice to see an analysis between Shinji and Asuka.
Heck...
Asuka was my first true "anime crush", way back in 98, when 13 years old me first watched Eva.
All I wanted back then was someone who would let me like them... And Asuka needed that.
Time passes and now I'm fresh out of a 12 years relationship, with a girl though was the one.
But, life happens, and as much as we still like each other, I think the same happened to us.
A lack of maturity to understand what the other truly wants.
In the end, I managed to find my "Asuka".
Now, all I need is my Mari.
Yeah, one can tell that Eva is an integral part of me...
there are worse anime relationships but eva's is tragic in that if they didn't deliberately make their pilot's worse things could've gone better for them with how it also shows anno's mental state going from comedic in a way to just purely bleak that in areas probably would've been a better ending for the og timeline if they just died like how originally it was going to be shinji at his friends graves with rei's torn off arm till asuka kicked it down with the final og end not being much hopeful(there's artwork of them in the world the next day after end of eva but with how the entire world went through the same process that wrecked most of the world/no real sign of people re-emerging from the lcl ocean or how long it'll take for them too/if animals got tanged as well doesn't feel like they'll survive long.).
Glad you included the Rebuilds as well. Not a lot of people talk about them.
There's a good reason for that.
@@JabamiLain Not saying otherwise
@@thelastcrow5660ok.
@@thelastcrow5660In a fic called "Trust and Advice", they do end up together. But what really got my attention in that fic, is that the author is clearly trying to portray "toxic happiness".
Yes, they're better humored, and Rei is kinda their pseudo-daughter, and they integrate Kaworu in their dynamic...But Asuka herself admits they're too co-dependant on each other. She just doesn't care. For now, that is.
Kaworu is showing why co-dependency is not good either. And Rei already did what she could. But she can't do anything further.
I'd like to see your interpretation of Shinji and Rei's relationship too
I’d love to do that if this video gets enough attention, but my off the dome thoughts are, “lots and lots of Oedipus Complex…”
@@LukewarmTakesYT Freud would be licking its lips when watching Evangelion
Sometimes i think the struggle of self validation is reflecting on what you consider to be "worthy of love" and whether the issue is with that critera or a biased or unrealistic perception about yourself and others matching that criterea. Because I know others and have my self experianced the hypocrisy of loving people without a second thought toward "flaws" that I'd shame myself for. And at the same time have had to mature to learn to accept certain other flaws in others that I would look down on them for or refuse to identify in myself for fear of having to hate myself.
Never watched this anime before, but it did convict me. It makes me want to stop hating myself and treating myself so terribly. I didn't know it can lead to such horrible acts against other people, but I can honestly see how Shinji got there. I want to change before my own toxic thought pattern hurts others.
You're taking the first steps. But it's impossible to do it alone, and that's also why those kids failed so miserably in self actualization. In fact, Asuka only gets better after she is forced to learn to communicate with people after 14 years, based on the true necessity that comes from the disaster. So I think talking about this with a friend, and making new friends to open up with them after some time building trust on both sides, is key to become a better person. You should find someone who listens to you, as well as learning to listen other people. Getting biblical here as it is part of it Evangelion, last week's Parashat was about Joseph, who his brothers resented for him interpreting his own dreams, in which he was destined to become important. He only was respected after spending 20 years locked up, and learned to listen to other people's dreams and interpret them, instead of just focusing on his own. Meaning, we need someone like Joseph in our lives, that could be a therapist. But we also need to learn how to be like him. Empathy is a two-way street
I'm so based I've never had a relationship I'm above it all
What a flex
@ the closes thing I ever kissed that felt special was when I was tipsy and it was my fireball bottle
Pog
Based
Real
I see that final scene as Shinji essentially throwing a tantrum. He’s frustrated, confused, and has only been taught through violence and abandonment. And that is as expressed with his chokehold.
However, in this moment and only this moment, rather than violence or anger being her first response like usual, she instead (for the first time) expresses care by holding and embracing him.
And this is so extremely crucial for both characters, as Shinji is usually the submissive one and Asuka is more violent and abrasive.
However in what seems to be there last moments, the juxtaposition goes full circle to express how they really are inside.
Asuka, only wanting love, chooses to embrace Shinji in what is seeming to be her last moments, while Shinji caves into his impulses and lashes out, just like his father would.
And there is a tragic irony to the reversal. Asuka has once again been abandoned, abused, and thrown out by someone she loves. While Shinji is the abuser, who takes out his misery on women, just like his father.
Well no. They are children. Her instructer was right. Just be a kid and worry about that stuff later when you are an adult...
Yea they are, but i think that the problems such as these can happen in any relationship, child or adult
Thats the obvious conclusion. But they’re miserable traumatized kids who won’t reach those conclusions
@@valentai_777 B.S. excuse. They all need to grow up...
There's an amazing video made years ago, that felt a bit like conspiracy theory, connecting all the media produced on Evangelion as a single story. Turns out the guy was spot on. Anno said once that Evangelion is a story that repeats itself. Kaworu in Rebuild expected Shinji to be the same person, and he knew the outcome. The whole world would be destroyed and the timeline would reboot. My own personal interpretation is that the universe in Evangelion will never have end, so at some point, everything will be as the were one day. But it could be just a sequence of timelines after the world is destroyed each time. In any case, the whole world was stuck in a destruction loop thanks to Shinji never maturing and facing his own issues. Up until the end of Rebuild. Shinji learns to be a better version of himself, and finally having the agency to mature. That surprises Kaworu, making him proud of Shinji. he did the unexpected. Finally the whole world around Shinji can move on and so can he. And that's how it is for most of us, right? When we're stuck, it feels like the whole world around us is stuck to, until it collapses. I also thought of what happens around Shinji more as a representation of one's surroundings when in a bad mental state. It's an analogy that fits. I don't think Mari and Shinji are in love, but surely in a healthy relationship. It doesn't come across as romantic, but as trusting friends, who are free to be themselves. I see Mari more as a potential FWB, but definitely someone who wants to see the best version of Shinji. Maybe they will be in love someday. But they are now friends who tease each other easily especially because there are no strings attached. I think Shinji has yet to find true love, and he will. Because he learned to love himself. and the whole world is thankful, even if they don't know it
When discussing the hospital scene with the voice actress for Asuka, Anno described Shinji's act almost as if it was an alternative to sexual assault, something he did instead of directly SAing her. The voice actress responded by saying it was in any case "disgusting." Anno went with this, and made "disgusting" the last line of End of Evangelion, to reflect Asuka's perspective on it when she comes back and somehow recalls what happened. Make of this what you will.
If so, it was a modicum of self restraint on Shinji's part. In character I'd say.
The end went from 100 to 10,000 real quick. I just watched it for the first time this week.
blowing one on her chest while she's out in a hospital was pretty nuts.
Bru...reread your comment.😂
Good job on the video I like how you explain the characters this is the first time I've ever looked into this anime
Thank you
Funny enough,if you want to see an AsuShin Relationship that actually works,Xenogears has Fei Fong Wong and Elehaym Van Houten who fills the roles of Shinji and Asuka respectively.
Awesome video, I'm currently writing a story with a similar relationship in it, and this analysis really helped giving me insight.
This is why this show is in my top 5 ever 🎉
im ngl when i seen this anime i knew there was something wrong with him but when i saw the hospial scene i was like "hes doing to much" but yet i dont hate him because i feel like its because of his father
It’s an extremely complicated set of emotions that he’s feeling. The action itself is of course reprehensible and completely immoral, no one is debating that, however, the mentality behind why he did the action is so layered with many different themes.
@@LukewarmTakesYT I agree but his father kind of forced him into this
@@LukewarmTakesYTyou mean when he felt her up while she was unconscious right?
@@jeremiahperryman948 Shinji never once felt up Asuka when she was unconscious.
@@bhendri31huh??
The hard part is seperating the underlying problems and symbolism from the metric megatons of trauma in the events of the show. For shinji, he was actually improving and making gains, but it always goes wrong at the Eva 03/Baradiel incident and the aftermath of Zeruel's attack, it all goea downhill rapidly feom there. Specifically in terms of a relationship Asuka was never going to get over Shinji proving utterly his superiority during the Zeruel attack and Shinji was already in massive shell shock from hurting/killing Toji and then getting his mind peeled like an onion for a month by mecha mommy, and then it got worse for both. Its a tragic and desperate love between broken people, but in a lot ways you still want it to work out
"Acknowledging your weakness is the first step to strength"
The biggest reason I love Evangelion so much is that I relate to it on a really strong level. I was in a situation with a girl just like this in highschool and it fell apart in an extremely similar way.
One person I saw on EvaGeeks wiki summed up Evangelion perfectly: "If the kiss was successful, then the 3rd Impact wouldn't have happened." There's 2 times in the show where Shinji and Asuka attempt to kiss, but both times, it failed. And the idea is that if they DID kiss, then they could have worked together similar to how they did in that one episode and neither of them would have fell apart towards the end of the series.
They both have insecure attachment styles- Asuka having the Fearful Avoidant style (also known as Disorganized) and Shinji having the Anxious Preoccupied style. Basically, one fears inevitable betrayal and the other fears abandonment. I, myself, have the Fearful Avoidant attachment style.
What it comes down to (as many other in the comments are saying here) is communication. If they were capable of telling the other person how they felt, then it wouldn't have ended up with people both of them getting hurt. This is true in both their situation and mine. There is a bravery necessary to trust in others- especially when you have traumas that discourages the concept of trust. But, it's necessary in order for love to be possible...
I once read that their relationship was much better in the manga, the anime their at each others throats.
@gendochikito2111can you give me more examples of how they're besties in the manga, please ? I heard the manga is the very first timeline, before the loops started.
This is one of those subjects you can find out a lot about people from.
It has shifted a little. Just a little. But for the longest time. This relationship was depicted as completely one-sided by the fandom. That Shinji was nothing but a horrible person in full control of his actions. And that Asuka was an innocent victim with no control over hers.
Needless to say this attitude is, was, and will alway be an expression of sexism.
They both did horrible things. As much as people like to harp on what Shinji did in that hospital room. Next to no one will call out how Asuka forced a kiss on him earlier in the series. Or how she "explained" some school work in a way that clearly constitutes sexual harassment.
Manga :
Punpun and Aiko : let us introduce ourselves
their relationship very slightly reminds me of David and Lucy from cyberpunk edgerunners, mostly because of the lack of communication
Yep, I exactly thought the same.
Shinji grown up looks like he belongs in a different anime.
I fell into this unwittingly with my sister's bf. He and i began a toxic affair. When i rewatched Eva during that time, i couldn't believe how similar i was to asuka and he to shinji. We finally got to a point where i decided to leave and make ammends to those i hurt.
Dog that’s your sister. Pray for forgiveness and cease the thottery.
In a fic called "Trust and Advice", they do end up together. But what really got my attention in that fic, is that the author is clearly trying to portray "toxic happiness".
Yes, they're better humored, and Rei is kinda their pseudo-daughter, and they integrate Kaworu in their dynamic...But Asuka herself admits they're too co-dependant on each other. She just doesn't care. For now, that is.
Kaworu is showing why co-dependency is not good either. And Rei already did what she could. But she can't do anything further.
I've noticed that feminists, queersexuals, and other non-hetronormative folks often heavily criticize traditional hetrosexual relationships as being too codependent.
Love will always be dictated by reality and reality will always point you to the right direction if you let it.
It was one of the most Painful Relationships yet, But its something to learn from it rather then being a Coward, But Accepting despite what happended to each of here own Traumas...
Honestly, I never watched NG so I always assumed it was a depressing action anime.
These videos really make me realize it's a psychological horror.
I am actually so shocked because I thought it was just an action anime.
Projecting projecting so hard anime therapy best therapy
I have mixed feelings on your opinion of the beach scene but I may have simply misunderstood. As a women who has faced violence very similar to what happened within that scene I don’t feel that it’s appropriate to say that any level of bitchiness on her part was at all the problem simply because violence is never an appropriate reaction in those situations but at the same time I understand what you mean.
I am glad that Rebuild is in a different continuity, because I don't really like where it ended Asuka and Shinji's bond. I prefer the open-ended and interpretive conclusion of the og as opposed to the "they're toxic so they don't end up together" conclusion of the Rebuilds. It almost feels like a cop-out in a wierd way.
I love the open-ended in EOE and to me I like to think maby just maby they will actually grow for the better together or at least learn to be real friends
I always thought Shinji and Asuka were better off as friends who acted like siblings. Shinji and Rei would be the ones I thought to be in a full on romantic relationship as they both experience the same amount of trauma from piloting the EVAS not saying Asuka doesn’t have trauma but she hides her trauma with a fake persona which makes her more like a sibling to Shinji. But I guess Shinji just like all the girls because both of them could be seen as a romantic relationship 😂
Shinji only lusted after the girls. His heart's true love beated for someone with a more musical humming to his surroundings.
Also, Rei barely knows what she wants/needs for herself, not to mention she's a hommunculus based mostly after Yui. Don't you think it's cruel for both her and Shinji to tie them down like that ?
Shinji is (not) straight.
@@Pfft7810I think he's bissexual, because he was shown to lust after the women. But his heart definitely was Kaworu's alone.
I always thought he was wanting to be with Rei
Hedgehog’s dilemma…
The love between Shinjin and Asuka was so toxic that the developers rebooted the manga to create a new character to end up with Shinjin 😂 😂 It's a shame that the original manga didn't finish their story. i guess they love each story but they needed to overcome their trauma to express their feeling. would they end up together in the original story will be left to the fans interpretation?
this is such a beautifully well written video that helped me understand their relationship so much better ❤
I’m glad I’ve done my job!
Glad you liked it!
In other parallel universe yes I would think shinji and asuka would be a good couple if they just worked together and expressed how they feel if they didn’t hold anything back on episode 9 it shows. But then again the insecurities the lack of chemistry and past trauma that these two face would not allow it. As much as I love these characters to be together I could definitely see how it would never work because of how toxic it has gotten. We gotta talk about misato as well as being a guardian she’s not really a good fit to be in the role of raising two children who’s only purpose is to pilot the Eva especially everyone in it are forcing kids to go up against giant monsters just to save the world it’s a pretty messed up thing. Story short I think the rebuild did a good job the ending was satisfying and both parties moved on and got a happy ending as the rest of the crew so yeah.
3 weeks ago??? woah first of all i havent finished the vid while writing but i love the vid already! keep it up
2:47 why kaworu is the best love interest to choose from. Rei is also good love interest, but it’s kind of weird because Rei is a clone of Shinji‘s mom.
4:46 is kind of cute how these two are one of the same
9:57 nvm asuka might be the best love interest and the worst love interest
13:36 oop😅
@@ayeeenylah1685 Kaworu didn't even understand that making Shinji kill him would devastate him. He's not a good love interest.
@ bro I changed my mind
@@ayeeenylah1685 I will say Rebuild Kaworu is totally different and actually does care about Shinji, and literally died for him. One of the only characters who was actually more depthful in the Rebuilds than the original.
I doubt that Anno has just ONE interpretation of what he created in Evangelion - for starter, Hideaki Anno changed during the production of the original series and even more by the time he got to do the various movies.
Anime: I don't think Asuka really is in a relationship with Shinji. After all, she told him "No" when he asked for 'help'.
Manga: Absolutely some moments where they had something including him sassing to her. "When I'm Right, I'm Right". And they reunited on a train platform after The End.
Parallels and Differences, a comparison between Shinji from evangelion and Eren from Attack On Titan could be rather interresting me thinks-
I’ve honestly seen more parralels between Shinji and Denji from Chainsaw Man
@ sure, but i also think the difference between Eren and Shinji are worth analyzing. The contrasts and likeness, both of them.
@@LukewarmTakesYTafterall attack on titan are just flesh mechs
That's why im so glad these two didn't get together.
Watching NGE, I never really thought Asuka loved Shinji. She hated him because he was everything she wanted to be, because to her Shinji invalidates her existence. She only wanted Shinji's affection to make herself feel better, we see that she seeks superficial sexual encounters to satiate her ego. And honestly I don't think Shinji really loves Asuka either, because he too seeks physical intimacy and validation. The only thing bringing the two together is a mutual loneliness, a need to be needed
She did find his occasional "Knight in shining armor" moments endearing. But you're right. When it came to long term, it wasn't love that was there.
I think it started off as a real affection but their lack of communciation hindered anythibg more, plus her anger towards Shinji's victories (and praise by Midato) reeks of envy at its most viceral
was she annoyed by him? yep, to be frank the entire school is full of obnoxious teens, would she have ever genuinely harmed him? outside of petty insults and the occasional slap, no, they're kind of dumb and their other shells are deceiving to each other
Hi! Can you please do a shinji and kaworu video? And maybe out of all shinji relationships, which one will be better for him as a person.
Manga's Shinji X Asuka >>>> Anime's Shinji X Asuka.
Shinji and Kaworu are without a doubt the best and healthiest relationship in Evangelion
I wish the series had enough time for them to establish some kind of healthy relationship, they do a good job of showing the problems with human relationships but i’d like more of the good
your editing has improved bro 🤑🤑
Progress only comes with time, I’m hoping to be even better next year!
I think "limerance" describes their relationship pretty well
I think that in some ways she was more toxic to him than he was to her even though they were both toxic and a glaring example of this( which I'm pretty sure that asuka is infamous for in the anime community)is punching shinji right after barging into his room without permission , waking him up and noticing that he had morning wood!!!
Can you talk about? Shinji and Rei next
@@barzap6190 their relationship is nowhere near as interesting
Evangelion is just pure suffering…
This is so true
Good video
What if it's the opposite and your the one that wants to be in a relationship just to help someone feel better about themselves? Like say the only reward you want out of this is just companionship so you don't have to feel alone anymore?
big problem there
Because you're doing this to fight off loneliness, you are more likely to tolerate some things you really shouldn't because " it is better than being alone." Most times, you won't even call it out, which you should really do if you care about a sincere relationship.
@livelife4928 But what if you fear the precautions of it? Like what if you're terrified if you do you end up hurting the person you care most?
What other person could he have been with then the one he ended up way?
Honestly he didn’t have to end up with anyone. Shinji’s story is about self acceptance, love and connection is just a byproduct of his true goal of learning to accept himself.
Like OP said, Shinji could be alone and that would be fine. Personally, I think Kawuro would be a good choice but he’s dead.
What's the name of the song and 16:00
If I had a dollar for every otherwise well written video essay about Evangelion where the narrator mispronounces the names, I could afford more Eva model kits.
if i could, i would help them both out....
In a world like Eva, where even seemingly well adjusted characters like Kaji are fucked, let's just call a spade a spade
Mari is a Mary Sue, literally there in the name, and the stand-in for the wife of a man who feels he needs to remake a series to "correct" his old worldview
Brother, YOU didn't change, you just got rich
My thoughts exactly. I felt extremely betrayed when I found out about the "Rebuilds".
Well said
5:05 wild
They deserve each other
Not wrong who else could understand them 2 people broke by trauma that had to fix each them selfs?
I agree and ship Shinji and Asuka but they really should stop going to crazy their is a official release of what that would look like in Angelic days
Oh gee thanks TH-cam for deleting a comment that had nothing flaggable in it?
Anyway y'all don't even know the real story for evengalion or how far they started from the manga making this anime
It's not an introspection of human behavior
It's literally a passion project and the meaning of it is to never give up
That's literally it
The only bigger POS in the universe than Shinji Ikari is his father and mother which means he was well written for his part. Shinji and Asuka's relationship was trauma bonding at best between two damaged angsty hormonal teens forced together in an impossible situation no sane person would endure or tolerate. Shinji is so pathetic everyone that meets him tries to reach out in pity before realizing he's such a POS and gives up damaging Shinji even more and reinforcing his bent mindset. Asuka and Shinji were like emotional black holes who were trapped in each other's inescapable gravity of pain slowly tearing the other apart the more they interacted. The rebuilds seemed like maybe the creator felt bad for dumping his IRL mental problems on the audience spreading his trauma like a disease. He tried to redeem the story in some way after personal changes of view to give some closure for the audience. Maybe he felt like Kubrick who got tired of explaining 2001 to people that were still trying to find all the metaphorical easter eggs years later and wanted to end it.
I remember when we saw evangelion in high school when the hospital scene happened, we turned it off and didn't pick it up again for a few months but eventually had to find out if there was a point to such a twisted tale and the ending was just as WTF. Our only consensus was while it was an artistic masterpiece it needed to come with a surgeons general warning label on the box like a toxic substance or cigarettes that could do harm to the consumer. Looking back on it and the state of things and knowing Eva obsessed Otaku that sentiment seems truer than ever. We almost stopped watching this new anime stuff all together back then because of this series. Thankfully the limited imported anime in the states at the time you could get brought us a real treasure of a series that redeemed the genre: The Record of Lodoss War.
I know this is a little bit far-fetched but why do I get the feeling that play the showrunners really wanted Shinji to be gay.
@@attiepollard7847 Farther out there than Voyager 1. If that were true Asuka would have been a male pilot and played out the same. Anime has no shortage of toxic bromance frenemies that look like classic homosexual repression, but Shinji did not act that way and he would have tried harder to fit in.
Shinji lacked the capacity for normal interpersonal relationships of any kind including platonic ones because he had no good role models or got to experience healthy relationships. Everyone in his life was put there to manipulate him even his school friends before NERV picked him up.
Any sense of normalcy he may have observed living with his fake family would have been shattered the second he came home and watched his fake parents abandoned him for a briefcase full of cash and handed him over to NERV. That event started the crack in what he had of any sanity and his first meeting with Gendo started its chain reaction of fracturing more and accelerated by Misato and Asuka's plus his battles with Angels in his mecha mother.
As heinous as Gendo was his mother Yui was actually the true mastermind villain of the series. Everything that transpired was because of her selfish ambitions and hubris and insecurities. Seele and Gendo and Shinji were tools for her plan.
Shinji's only redeemable act was part teen rebellion rejecting mom's instrumentality project once he knew the truth when all minds were merged. It was the first decision to take agency for himself instead of doing what others wanted.
The whole series is a Freudian buffet.
@@eltreum1 they have Kaworu Nagisa - Fifth Children who seems to be popping up in every single property of neogenesis and it seems that he has always been chasing after him. That's why I asked are they trying to push for him to have a homosexual relationship with this guy.
Or maybe I can believe this they just don't want this kid to grow up because there are young youth like him who went through some lots of bull crap but they overcame it.
@@attiepollard7847 Ano said the OG series was inspired as a product of his depression. When he recovered and later got married his perspective changed and rebuild was a way of wrapping up a sense of closure.
Kaworu and Mari are largely there to break the instrumentality project cycle and to teach the lessons that give the characters through a healed and matured Shinji (Ano) new beginnings aka a Neon Genesis.
Kaworu is a child of Adam instead of Lilith so I guess it could be argued he was drawn to Shinji as Adan is to Lilith in some way but that causes Armageddon. The producers never alluded to that being a factor in the story when discussing the project afaik but said rebuild is a realm of interpretation.
He was trying to help Shinji make a decision that didn't involve him dying and waking up in a coffin on the moon over and over again and ending the battles. His sacrifice by wearing the bomb collar was to tech Shinji not to live at the cost of others. He took his time letting Shinji he was okay since he has a cemetery of bodies on the moon, I guess. Asuka's relationship with Shinji was to teach them to be honest with others and consider their feelings. Rei was to teach a partner is not a replacement for a parent or doll to play with. Shinji ends up with Mari giving everyone a clean slate in life on their own paths.
In the time skip the kids do not physically age until the end which was a metaphor of their arrested development until they resolved their issues appearing older in the end as they go their own ways finally free.
@@eltreum1 but he's popping up in every property after researching this thing for 2 hours and we have come to the conclusion that he has the hots for this shinji..
Can you make a video about zenitsu?i want to see you're perspective and opinion
Gray and Juvia should be listed as the Most Toxic Anime Relationship on here
Wow first time seeing anything about this series, yet these characters are a visual representation of some negative traits I have. Something new to learn about thank you.
That’s good advice
I'm scared of this show
I listen to you, I hear you, and I understand everything you have put forth. However, I still ship Shinji and Asuka because that shit is SPICY!!!
I just had a crush on Asuka and bad depression. I never shipped them.
Same and if you want a story with them getting together read Angelic days it's a alternate timeline where it takes place after ep 26 or at least the happer alternative world Shinji saw in that episode
Have you read the berserk Manga?
I still call this the worst relationship ever. About Asuka even fell in love with Shinji, in the words of Dr. Emmett Brown… “What does she see in that kid?!”
Can you talk about their relationship in the Neon Genesis Evangelion Genocide fanfic?
Can you please explain this to me the what?
@@barzap6190 I don't understand the question
@ I’m basically asking if he’s going to do their relationship next
@@barzap6190 I don't know, maybe
@@barzap6190 I hope so
Isnt mari asuka and shinji child in the manga thought its kind of bizarre
No Mari is shinji’s mom student or something (Mari has a crush on shinji mom but shiniji dad got the mom first so Mari decided to date shinji instead)
@@ThiccFurryBoi34...How old is Mari ? I never watched the Rebuilds, never will, but I am reading a fic that includes her character, so maybe I should know more about her.
@@Angelus_The_Red_Dragon
I do not know how old she is but probably somewhere as old as gendo as she did go to college with him
@@ThiccFurryBoi34...Then why does she look like s teen ? More importantly, her mindset looks very much like an adult's in the clips ! Why is she dating a teen !
It's official ! The Rebuilds are an abdomination !
Asushin is love. Asushin is live!
That's what I think....
get help
@thomasdeen2099 I don't want to.
What’s the anime at time stamp 0:32?
My cynical interpretation from a storytelling perspective is that Asuka represents typical juvenile boy fears about how a desirable yet bullying girl might treat you. While Shinji, from Asuka's perspective, may represent the frustrations of being sexually curious as a girl, yet unable to do anything about it as aggressive pursuit is not a girl's role traditionally, and is not a vulnerability that Asuka is prepared to have in any case. Naturally, Asuka being Asuka, she responds by getting angrier all the time and blaming Shinji. And Shinji being Shinji, he collapses emotionally and lashes out.
For all the talk of what Shinji did around Asuka though, she technically SAed him first by kissing him without consent. They both had trouble with expression, and ended up doing weird things as a result. I personally recall seeing fellow middle schoolers fumbling about in similar ways in real life.
He dosent love
He's sick !!!
What a freak!
Hot take: I honestly hated NGE when it first came out, and after trying to rewatch it a few times I'm still not the biggest fan. I honestly feel like it's too full of itself sometimes.
they were in love?
Are they in a relationship? Didn't shinji hooked up with the glasses girl?
Why is everyone here putting Rei as an alternative to Asuka ? Where are my "Kaworu" compatriots ?
Edit: Ok, but being serious now. Rei barely knows what she wants/needs for herself, not to mention she's a hommunculus based mostly after Yui. Don't you think it's cruel for both her and Shinji to tie them down like that ?
I should not watch this anime in senior high school. It give me weird perspectif about woman