Chuckman wrote:We don't really know anything about Yui. Everything we see of her is fragmented, dreamlike, and through the eyes of men obsessed with her.
I don't understand why it's considered axiomatic that in a series that's all about trying to shock the viewer out of their shell and get over clinging to childhood/their mommy, Shinji's mother must be some kind of saint. She doesn't need to be evil, but there's nothing in Eva's themes or text to suggest that she can't be, and a great deal to suggest that she is, at the very least, behind everything in a master-mindey kind of way.
Hmm, that's a good point you have there, probably nothing we see of her in the series outside of EoE is Yui directly speaking, but her being remembered by men who, uh, deeply loved her.
However, i admit i don't see what Yui's being Shinji's mother had to do with that, i guess it's an intentional coincidence on the part of Anno that the main character's mother is also one of the kindest and most hopeful characters in the series, but that's never really how i viewed Yui (as in, i never thought that "Shinji's mother should be some sort of saint" and i have a hunch that Shinji himself wouldn't be so sure of that). And while certainly there's nothing in the series that indicates she can't be (hell, could anyone even fit such criteria?) It is not exactly the most natural interpretation, i think.
But yeah, she does have that slightly creepy "I know everything" vibe to her.
The point of making an established character a villain in a fanfic (as far as I see it) is to not change the character, but show how the character's traits drove them to develop in another direction. Kendrix mentioned something about shoehorning Misato into the role of a villain. Well...she's obsessive with the concept of destroying the Angels no matter the cost (which put serious blinders on her to things going wrong until it was too late), it's clear from some of her interactions with the children that she can be exceedingly impatient (which in turn seemed to drive her to taking increasingly drastic measures as the series progressed), and her desire to keep people to arm's length to a degree (and the devestation she felt when Kaji was killed) demonstrate someone who is easily hurt or pummeled by those around her.
It's a good theory, but i have to be honest and say that as i was reading it, the words "Cherry-picking", "Out of character" and "Flanderization" popped into my head from time to time, it honestly seems in here that you're taking certain aspects of the characters and also choosing how to interpret them, which while not wrong and certainly fun, it feels like a... Incomplete, i guess? portrayal of the character. And i think that's what Kendrix addresed in her post among other things, if you're willing to twist things to such a degree, you can make anyone into what you want to.
Also, i'm not so sure about the idea that we can turn any character into a hero or villain, at least not while including and accounting for all the aspects of his or her character.
I keep saying that the best villains are the ones who do not see themselves as villains, and are in fact sympathetic to a larger or lesser extent. A villain that forces the audience to question whether or not what they do is wrong (and therefore view their own values) is a good character, a good driver of plot, and a good medium for sharing the author's ideas and directions of story.
Just wanted to say that i highly agree with this, and these tend to often be my favorite kind of villain.
Also, Chuckman hit the nail on the head: the only things we know about Yui are from unreliable narrators. It's not to say she was evil, just that we can't assume she was a perfect human. Which leaves a lot of ground for fan fic writers.
It's probably worth noting though that, at least in EoE and maybe episode 16, we heard the dialogue from the woman herself, and it fits almost perfectly with the rest of what we've seen. Plus, you know, dialogue with the woman herself.
"Every line is a joy" -Kaworu Nagisa.
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.