Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Guy Nacks » Sun Oct 16, 2016 2:29 am

In my tipsy haze induced by having some rye earlier this evening, I had a shattering moment of clarity:

After the events of 2.0, Asuka has had cybernetic implants embedded into her body.

Let's look at the details:

In NGE, Shinji crushed Toji's entry plug with him still inside, causing massive injuries resulting in this:

SPOILER: Show
Image


At the very least he has lost his left leg here and quite possibly his left arm as well, as we don't see it protruding from the covers.

Now, in NTE, Shinji crushes Asuka's entry plug with her still inside, probably causing massive injuries resulting in that shot of her fully encased in some recovery coffin thing.

In 3.0, she is seen punching a thick glass barrier and it cracks:

SPOILER: Show
Image


There is no way that a person with a normally functioning arm could do that without injuring themselves in the process.

She also is never seen out of her plugsuit for the duration of the movie, potentially concealing any artificial limb(s) she might have underneath. We already know there's something going on with her eye, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that her eye wasn't the only part of her body that was modified.
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Reichu » Sun Oct 16, 2016 4:08 am

The explanation provided in the actual films is that excessive plug depth results in the pilots "losing their humanity". They look human enough, sure, but Asuka attributes her youthful appearance to "the curse of Eva" and uses the term "Lilin" at the end of 3.0, indicating she no longer considers herself one. It seems reasonable to attribute the superhuman strength to the "curse" as well.
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby The Cruel » Sun Oct 16, 2016 8:23 am

She could've become a angel thanks to Bardiel. That's explains the crack on the glass through her fist. And because what happened to her durring the incident in Matsushiro and the Plugsuit she had on at first in 3.0, she could be scarred in a simlair manner like in EoE.
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby BlueBasilisk » Sun Oct 16, 2016 9:26 am

Could also be part Eva, or whatever the Evas were sourced from, or some version of the evolved humanity that was supposed to result from Instrumentality. Asuka's limbs all appear to be intact after the battle:
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby StrokeMeGoat » Wed Oct 26, 2016 12:00 am

View Original PostReichu wrote:The explanation provided in the actual films is that excessive plug depth results in the pilots "losing their humanity". They look human enough, sure, but Asuka attributes her youthful appearance to "the curse of Eva" and uses the term "Lilin" at the end of 3.0, indicating she no longer considers herself one. It seems reasonable to attribute the superhuman strength to the "curse" as well.
Not that you're wrong or anything, but OPs idea about her being a cyborg in no way conflicts with the curse of Eva and her "losing her humanity", as ambiguous as that statement is. I'm not saying she definitely is a cyborg or anything, but high functioning limbs made of cybernetic components isn't outside the realm of possibility here. Despite there not really being any evidence for it being why she cracked the glass, there isn't much evidence behind the idea that having lost her humanity has given her superhuman strength or prevents her from the injury she likely would've sustained from hitting the glass with that kind of force.

Assuming her cracking the glass there isn't just artistic license used to convey deep seated issues she has as result of what Shinji allegedly triggered, I think her having cybernetic limbs which is what allowed for that kind of strength is just as likely as the fact that she's "lost her humanity" due to the curse of the Eva. Shinji doesn't show any signs of having superhuman strength, nor does Mari. Granted, we don't see enough of Mari to actually be able to know one way or another, we see plenty of Shinji. If it truly was losing her humanity that gave Asuka this strength, the amount of time she's been without her humanity shouldn't really have an impact on her strength (saying here she shouldn't have slowly become inhumanly strong over time), meaning there isn't an excuse for Shinji not being similarly crazy strong.

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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby mammaluser » Thu Oct 27, 2016 12:11 pm

The "superhuman" strength is probably attributed to the so called "curse of EVA", probably since none of these questions are answered and will probably remain unanswered (or at least if they answer them it'll be a very simple response)
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Reichu » Fri Oct 28, 2016 6:29 pm

StrokeMeGoat: Between Occam's Razor and the Law of Conservation of Detail in Fiction, I'm not a little confused by your post. When it comes to posthuman weirdness, Asuka is a double-whammy: she was pulled deep into Eva-03's core (resulting in "loss of humanity", -->? Curse of Eva), AND part of her body has been modified or corrupted by the 9th to the point it needs to be technologically contained. It stands to reason that Asuka's unusual show of strength is intended to tie into her altered state of being, and not be a drunken non sequitur like "she's a cyborg".
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby FreakyFilmFan4ever » Sat Oct 29, 2016 7:36 am

If Asuka is a cyborg, then she's a cyborg in the sense that the Evangelion Units are cyborgs. She's a cyborg in the sense that the technology is there to hold her strength back, just like Unit 01's metal-plated armor is there to hold it back.

Or...

I guess there could be some interesting symmetry when it comes to Unit 02's mechanical limbs and whatever is theorized about Asuka's proposed mechanical limbs. Either way, there little to no evidence for any one particular cyborg idea to really be proven one way or the other. Right now anything different about her can and probably should simply be attributed to the "Curse of Eva," which is a term that has little to no canonical definition anyway.

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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Yaywalter » Thu Nov 10, 2016 12:15 pm

Bob Dole = Cyborg = Asuka = Jailbait

Bob Dole is Jailbait

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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby silvermoonlight » Fri Jun 23, 2017 11:00 am

Reading this thread all I can now think off is this image. ^_^

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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Cybermat47 » Fri Jun 23, 2017 8:37 pm

Asuka having cybernetic limbs would certainly make sense, and IMO it doesn't contradict any other theories about her survival.

Her referring to the others as Lilin could be interpreted as a sign that she now considers herself to be more machine than Lilin. Or, perhaps she was simply trying to make things easier to understand for Shinji and Rei Q.

There's evidemce for both the cyborg theory and the Angel theory, from what I can see.

View Original PostYaywalter wrote:Bob Dole = Cyborg = Asuka = Jailbait

Bob Dole is Jailbait


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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Reichu » Fri Jun 23, 2017 9:20 pm

Cybermat: Did you miss the image BlueBasilusk posted showing that Asuka's limbs are intact after the 9th Angel incident?

Also note the comments on Occam's razor and the law of conservation of detail. The film already provides an implied explanation for Asuka's strength. Where amidst Asuka being absorbed by an Angel -- complete with Ritsuko announcing the threat to her humanity -- and now having to use Angel-sealing tech on herself does "no way she could have superhuman strength unless she's a CYBORG!" fit, exactly?
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Cybermat47 » Fri Jun 23, 2017 10:39 pm

View Original PostReichu wrote:Cybermat: Did you miss the image BlueBasilusk posted showing that Asuka's limbs are intact after the 9th Angel incident?


That looks like concept art to me, so we can't be sure if it's canon or not. We would need a clearer image from the film itself to be sure. And in any case, there were plenty of opportunities for Asuka to lose limbs in the 14 year gap between 2.0 and 3.0 - it's illogical to assume that she could have only been injured to that extent in 2.0.

Also note the comments on Occam's razor and the law of conservation of detail. The film already provides an implied explanation for Asuka's strength. Where amidst Asuka being absorbed by an Angel -- complete with Ritsuko announcing the threat to her humanity -- and now having to use Angel-sealing tech on herself does "no way she could have superhuman strength unless she's a CYBORG!" fit, exactly?


"Although all traces of cellular contamination have disappeared, we cannot rule out the possibility of mental contamination from the Angel."
Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Evangelion 2.0

Asuka may be an Angel mentally, there's plenty of evidence to prove that, but it's clear from that dialogue that she's biologically a Lillin.

Therefore, I believe that there are three possibilities for her breaking the glass so easily. In no particular order:

1) She has cybernetic limbs.
2) She was so angry at Shinji that she didn't care about the pain. (Personally I believe that this is the most likely explanation. I would imagine that Asuka would show any cybernetic limbs to Shinji during that scene, to say "look at what you did to me".)
3) It was simply artistic licence.
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we Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Reichu » Sat Jun 24, 2017 12:10 am

It's not concept art. It's genga -- the finalized artwork, before digital inking and coloring. The colored pencil work is a guide for the digital colorist.

You have to square away what Ritsuko says then with information that's provided later. Asuka's eye patch is infused with Angel-sealing hex glyphs for a reason. The Angel itself is dead, but Asuka herself was clearly altered somehow. Otherwise, well, there wouldn't be anything that needs to be 'sealed away', and her eye wouldn't be glowing under the patch when she gets mad. Also keep in mind that Ritsuko's comment concerns the Angel only*; the humanity-risking effects of getting too close to the Eva are not commented on. Asuka, of course, says that she's affected by "Eva's curse" (incidentally, not that long after the glass-cracking punch).

* ...Though, who am I kidding. The 9th Angel is totally responsible for the eye.
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Re: we Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Cybermat47 » Sat Jun 24, 2017 8:48 am

View Original PostReichu wrote:It's not concept art. It's genga -- the finalized artwork, before digital inking and coloring. The colored pencil work is a guide for the digital colorist.


Ah, I see. That makes sense.

You have to square away what Ritsuko says then with information that's provided later. Asuka's eye patch is infused with Angel-sealing hex glyphs for a reason. The Angel itself is dead, but Asuka herself was clearly altered somehow. Otherwise, well, there wouldn't be anything that needs to be 'sealed away', and her eye wouldn't be glowing under the patch when she gets mad. Also keep in mind that Ritsuko's comment concerns the Angel only*; the humanity-risking effects of getting too close to the Eva are not commented on. Asuka, of course, says that she's affected by "Eva's curse" (incidentally, not that long after the glass-cracking punch).


I would say that she was mentally contaminated by the Angel. If it was something to do with the Eva, why would there be Angel sealing glyphs?

As for what the nature of this mental contamination is, I suspect we'll find out in 3.0+1.0.
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Re: Theory: Asuka is a Cyborg

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Postby Reichu » Sun Jun 25, 2017 1:07 pm

Angel-sealing tech is used on Evas as well. (Also on Shinji at the very beginning of 3.0.) Because, well... Think about it. ( I don't actually think the Eva is responsible for the EYE, I'm just saying.)

You have yet to explain how "psychological contamination" would make someone's eye glow blue. This isn't just a beast mode thing; it happens when Asuka isn't anywhere near an Eva, too.

https://wiki.evageeks.org/File:Eva3-33_C0397_eye.jpg

Unsurprisingly, khara's official translation of Ritsuko's line has her say something that isn't blatantly contradictory:

Ritsuko: The cellular erosion has dissipated. We cannot rule out the possibility of mental contamination from the Angel.
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