Ok, now you might think it’s weird for me to come up with this topic after all the posts I made about her, but hear me out a minute.

Asuka had been through some things no four year old child should have to go through, even at fourteen years of age. All the things NERV had dealt her with is just plain wrong, cruel, and inhumane, and altogether unethical. And Asuka really needed some help from her close ones, but she never got them. Maybe if someone had bothered to help her when she’s at her lowest, things would probably be different.

As for Shikinami, she may not be the real Asuka, and she’s Asuka in name only. But in the end, she is her own person. And Shinji and Misato had brought meaning to her life.

In closing, Asuka’s personality may not be all that great, but in the end, she’s just a child who just needs love.

They are basically forced into working for the military and have to deal with active combat. Even if they were treated with the love and support that they need, they would still have to deal with the issues of puberty and the responsibility of the protecting the ignorant masses. Granted it would be better if they were more stable, since their insecurities and trauma are their Achille's heel. Asuka's hard outer shell may have made her an Angel killing machine, but she has sacrificed the enjoyment of her life.

"Just" a hug, no. That falls victim to the self-reliance narrative that asserts that the only work we need to do is within ourselves, and not, you know, also in society. You can have an endless amount of sit-down hug-it-out therapy sessions with your close friends where you end up feeling warm and fuzzy; that doesn't stop the efforts at the local courthouse to freeze minimum wage once again. EoTV Shinji resolves his personal troubles within his insular mind-meld. Now what? EoE Shinji looks to see some kind of gradual return of society. Now what? Shin's Shinji is in a business suit heading into the city; does the city not have some pressing issues with which to have some conviction and aspiration?

No degree or amount of consolation Asuka could have been given would stop the slow approach of Nerv's remote-ordered flame-throwers. The rewrite of an Evangelion-less world doesn't fix all fixable things in toto.

Hug is an understatement, they need to revamp their whole dang society for anyone in that series to be semi-functional without suffering from extreme mental damage that comes from just.... Existing. That being said, a little affection can go a long way for some. It's just a matter of whether they take that affection to heart or simply crave it in a very unhealthy manner. Either way, I don't think any amount of therapy could fix Asuka's issues, at least, not for many many many years. There is just too much going on there that I don't know where to begin to unpack it. As for the others, well, I'm sure they could just the support. I just don't think in the context of NERV's questionable ethics a simple physical gesture would ever suffice. God knows so many of them are just beyond traumatized from just... existing in the society that they do, with the people that they do,

But yes, they could, at bare minimum, use a hug.

Just, they also need... a lot more than than anyone could have ever offered them.

What they need is genuine relationships with each other. I do think Shinji's friendship with kaworu, kensuke, toji, and Asuka's friendship with the school rep go a long way. Especially during those crucial moments such as when Shinji met kaworu or camped out in the forest with kensuke, or when Asuka had to live with the school rep when she became depressed. They were at their lowest point and friendship really helped them.

I think OP isn't saying that a hug would solve everything but reacting to the disproportionate hate you sometimes see like she's a terrible bitch or an abuser & terrible shit should happen to her etc.

I'm very critical of her in a lot of ways and I'd be the first to say that her bullying behavior shouldn't be glossed over as much as it sometimes is by her fans, but at the end of the day, she is just a mean schoolgirl. (under a lot of pressure & extenuating circumstances)

The worst she "deserves" is maybe a stern talking to from an adult & perhaps the natural consequence that ppl she is mean to won't want to be her friends until she acts less mean.
She wouldn't have got that way if there had been proper parenting. Her story is an absolute tragedy.
Demonizing or wishing sadistic punishment on her is way disproportionate, she'd benefit from some help, mentoring or understanding friends.

In the same way that a lot of ppl who hate on Rei, say she has "no personality", call her a "plot device" & generally seem to have her confused with Anthy from Utena just blatantly hate introverts or due to comformism lack empathy toward anybody "weird" or "creepy", there are definitely ppl who want Asuka drawn & quartered because they're lowkey sexist ("she's such a loud bitch!") or can't handle rejection. (& a person who disses everyone & especially the male lead triggers that... never mind the obvious loud message in the show proper about how growing up means learning to deal with rejection. At least Shinji only got aggro about this at his very worst when he was in an utterly broken state, not by default.)

I think Anno once made some comment about which one you like revealing if you're top or bottom but I'd say extreme hate is also a fun little Rorscharch test.

Ppl who seem incapable of caring about Rei because shes not "relatable" have absolutely bullied the weird kids in highschool whereas ppl with a disproportionate hateboner for Asuka are probably the exact same bunch that loathe cats because they aren't as eager to please as dogs & should be avoided for the same reasons. (taking it super personal when they're not catered to)

ppl do occasionally write those super-vengeful ultra-juvenile fanfics where Asuka gets humiliated/"punished".

Kendrix wrote:I think OP isn't saying that a hug would solve everything but reacting to the disproportionate hate you sometimes see like she's a terrible bitch or an abuser & terrible shit should happen to her etc.

I'm very critical of her in a lot of ways and I'd be the first to say that her bullying behavior shouldn't be glossed over as much as it sometimes is by her fans, but at the end of the day, she is just a mean schoolgirl. (under a lot of pressure & extenuating circumstances)

The worst she "deserves" is maybe a stern talking to from an adult & perhaps the natural consequence that ppl she is mean to won't want to be her friends until she acts less mean.
She wouldn't have got that way if there had been proper parenting. Her story is an absolute tragedy.
Demonizing or wishing sadistic punishment on her is way disproportionate, she'd benefit from some help, mentoring or understanding friends.

In the same way that a lot of ppl who hate on Rei, say she has "no personality", call her a "plot device" & generally seem to have her confused with Anthy from Utena just blatantly hate introverts or due to comformism lack empathy toward anybody "weird" or "creepy", there are definitely ppl who want Asuka drawn & quartered because they're lowkey sexist ("she's such a loud bitch!") or can't handle rejection. (& a person who disses everyone & especially the male lead triggers that... never mind the obvious loud message in the show proper about how growing up means learning to deal with rejection. At least Shinji only got aggro about this at his very worst when he was in an utterly broken state, not by default.)

I think Anno once made some comment about which one you like revealing if you're top or bottom but I'd say extreme hate is also a fun little Rorscharch test.

Ppl who seem incapable of caring about Rei because shes not "relatable" have absolutely bullied the weird kids in highschool whereas ppl with a disproportionate hateboner for Asuka are probably the exact same bunch that loathe cats because they aren't as eager to please as dogs & should be avoided for the same reasons. (taking it super personal when they're not catered to)

ppl do occasionally write those super-vengeful ultra-juvenile fanfics where Asuka gets humiliated/"punished".

What does it say about my psychology if I don't hate either one (but prefer Asuka)?

At first, I didn't really know what to make of Rei/thought she was boring, though I did not hate her. I understood her more as I re-watched the series multiple times. She's a little harder to understand because her emotions are more subtle than, say, Asuka's, but...she's eventually understandable if you think about her predicament carefully (and ask other Eva fans to explain her).

To be honest, the only character I've ever loathed with a passion was Mari. Yeah, didn't even hate Gendo despite how slimy he could be!

Asunji_Yuko wrote:What does it say about my psychology if I don't hate either one

That you engage with media in a healthy way