#rowan watches neon genesis evangelion

[kuroopaisen]

something that really gets to me in neon genesis evangelion (and tbh anno probably meant it this way) is how,,, shinji is a child, a 14 year old boy, and yet none of the adults in the show seem to think much about putting the weight of saving the world on his shoulders. nobody comforts him, nobody gives him the time or space to comprehend what he’s feeling. and i know that’s because all the adults are deeply fucked up in their own ways, but it just really bothers me? 

shinji is berated for being traumatised, being depressed, being horrified by the things he has to do and the things he’s seen. but instead of reaching out to him with compassion, he’s treated like a burden -- something he fears. that’s why he takes to kaworu so quickly; kaworu offers him the gentle compassion and recognition he deserves. he literally said “this is the first time anyone’s ever said that to me” (depending on which translation you prefer). shinji just wants to be loved, but he’s punished for it. 

yes, to some degree the adults (especially misato) are right about how he can’t keep being passive just because he’s afraid of rejection. but nobody actually acknowledges that fear, nobody explains why he shouldn’t be afraid. they just demand that he get over it, that he gets in the damn robot. nobody stops to think about the effect this has on his wellbeing. 

the adults all decide that his wellbeing is a necessary sacrifice, and do nothing to try to soften the blow. 

it’s similar with asuka, too; when she’s obviously having a breakdown, misato seems irritated. nobody reaches out to her, no authority figure gives her the recognition she so desperately desires. she’s ignored; and in her darkest moments, she’s alone. i deplore the scene of her alone in the eva during end of evangelion because she’s in so much pain, so afraid, but she’s alone -- alone, curled up in the fetal position. and yet, nobody helps her. nobody can. 

in many ways, nge seems to be a show about self-centredness, and i think it’s a fascinating look at how our own pain can blind us to the suffering of others. i’m still fuzzy on what it’s trying to say about that exactly, but the ending of the original series seems to be speaking the importance of realising your own worth yourself, regardless of what others think? which, to me, reads a bit like it’s talking about the value of isolation -- and that’s the difference i suppose with shinji rejecting instrumentality and becoming his own person again. 

being yourself, even if it means being invariably isolated from others and never truly able to transgress the boundary of the self and the other, is better. i don’t necessarily agree, but i do think it’s interesting. 

this is very incoherent and i have a lot of Thoughts on this show, i need to watch the rebuild films dsfkljdflkj

#trauma tw #depression tw #rowan rambles #i'll shut up eventually i just have Nowhere else to put this #i'm not confident enough to post this in places where there's like. actual discourse about the show #because a lot of people read into it a Lot deeper than me & i really appreciat their effort & analyses #rowan watches neon genesis evangelion #neon genesis evangelion spoilers #nge spoilers

[bssaz97]

Hey Joanna it good to finally meet you got something weird to ask you hope you don’t mind. Do you watch anime and if you do what’s your favorite? Thanks for reading this hope you and your family have a great day . May the traveler’s light guide you

Joanna: It’s not a weird question, I like anime but probably don’t watch it as much as Liena and Rowan. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it, I enjoy mecha anime like Gundam Seed, Gurren Lagann, Neon Genesis Evangelion, but I also like anime like Fullmetal Alchemist and Dr. Stone because they have protagonists who are intelligent.

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[kuroopaisen]

You're watching evangelion?? It's so depressing bu that might be because I watched the show when I was 11 😭 clearly not something I shouldve watched

yeah! i finished the original series yesterday evening and,,, i have some thoughts? but OMG 11 is definitely too young to watch it fkkljds i don’t know how you would’ve processed a lot of what happened HHHH it’s really quite brutal and intense,,, 

i think it’s strengths lie in how it explores depression and grief in a very human sense (shinji appears to be quite the controversial character online but i liked him and felt really bad for him throughout the narrative because my god he’s fourteen and they’re putting him through all that.) i really felt shinji’s loneliness, fear of rejection and desperation to be loved, and i 

while i think it had a lot of promise and an interesting premise, but i lost me during maybe,,, the last four episodes? for one, i was sort of :/ with how they treated the female characters throughout (esp. rei and asuka who are, what? 14? and how all the women, including ritsuko and misato ended up being defined by their relationships with men,,,) and i still don’t actually understand how it ended? like i understand the philosophy they were getting at, but in terms of the actual events of the narrative? no clue. no idea. 

i’ve heard that end of evangelion amends that a bit but i haven’t watched it yet. all in all it made me Feel something, so i guess it won? 

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