"Anno intended Rei to be creepy"

[Reichu]

Bagheera wrote:

There is no evidence whatsoever that Rei is made of PWM.

There is evidence (search "Rei PWM"), so it would probably be fairer for you to say, "I don't buy into the argument that Rei is made of PWM".

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"

[Reichu]

Bagheera wrote:

There is no evidence whatsoever that Rei is made of PWM.

There is evidence (search "Rei PWM"), so it would probably be fairer for you to say, "I don't buy into the argument that Rei is made of PWM".

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"

[Bagheera]

Reichu wrote:

There is evidence (search "Rei PWM"), so it would probably be fairer for you to say, "I don't buy into the argument that Rei is made of PWM".

It all seems to hinge on the notion that the SoLs are made of PWM, which is just as dodgy. We know the Angels are made of PWM and . . . that's it. And of course, even leaving that aside, we know exactly nothing about what PWM construction actually means in a practical sense.

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[NemZ]

Bagheera wrote:

Rei isn't like other people. Comparing her to people who are mere introverts, or even people who are fully schizoid, is extremely misleading.

Dude, it's kind of a big theme of the show that everyone is like other people. Yeah she's really out there and has some very special issues to deal with, but at core Rei is still a person... and by extension, so are all the other angels. Everybody is just a recycled FAR anyway.

_________________
"IGNORE ME!" - The Galactic Inquisitor
Evangelion is "the equivalent of throwing an Abnormal Psych textbook into a woodchipper, gathering up the little scraps, and pasting them together with robot violence and flaming airborne crosses." - Wax Banks

[Bagheera]

NemZ wrote:

Dude, it's kind of a big theme of the show that everyone is like other people. Yeah she's really out there and has some very special issues to deal with, but at core Rei is still a person... and by extension, so are all the other angels. Everybody is just a recycled FAR anyway.

That's true, but that doesn't mean they're all equally relatable or that Joe Classmate can get to know Rei just because he wants to. Attempts to do so will be rebuffed, to the point where pursuing the issue will make Joe seem even creepier than Rei!

Rei is still a person, yes, but so is every creepy person on the planet. Doesn't make them not creepy.

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[NemZ]

Bagheera wrote:

Rei is still a person, yes, but so is every creepy person on the planet. Doesn't make them not creepy.

Creepiness is relative, man. Everyone has different thresholds before something becomes a dealbreaker. I guess I just don't get why you don't like her, the same way I don't understand how you can find Asuka tolerable.

_________________
"IGNORE ME!" - The Galactic Inquisitor
Evangelion is "the equivalent of throwing an Abnormal Psych textbook into a woodchipper, gathering up the little scraps, and pasting them together with robot violence and flaming airborne crosses." - Wax Banks

[Bagheera]

NemZ wrote:

Creepiness is relative, man. Everyone has different thresholds before something becomes a dealbreaker. I guess I just don't get why you don't like her, the same way I don't understand how you can find Asuka tolerable.

Who said I don't like Rei? And for that matter, who said I thought Asuka was tolerable? I like her character, but that doesn't mean I'd like her in real life.

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[NemZ]

Bagheera wrote:

Who said I don't like Rei?

I find it extremely hard to believe you like someone that creeps you right the fuck out. The two reactions are pretty much mutually exclusive.

Stryker wrote:

From a schoolmates perspective:

None of that seems uncanny to me in the slightest. I'd assume she's just a shy albino girl who gets bored in class.

Quote:

And then we go deeper, from lets say, Commander Ikari's perspective:

Gendo keeps her at a distance, treats her like a thing except for the few times when he forgets to keep his barriers up or when he's intentionally trying to manipulate her. These are all his issues, not mine.

Rei's origins are certainly unique, but why should that concern my impression of her as a person? That's just the way she is. Body parts falling off and so on... that's a sign of something going wrong, a symptom of an illness. Just about everything normal people do while sick is disgusting too, but I don't hold that against them.

_________________
"IGNORE ME!" - The Galactic Inquisitor
Evangelion is "the equivalent of throwing an Abnormal Psych textbook into a woodchipper, gathering up the little scraps, and pasting them together with robot violence and flaming airborne crosses." - Wax Banks

[Bagheera]

NemZ wrote:

I find it extremely hard to believe you like someone that creeps you right the fuck out. The two reactions are pretty much mutually exclusive.

I disagree. The very notion that I have to find Rei pleasant or approachable or comforting or whatever before I can like her as a character is baffling to me. In fact, I would even find that baffling with regard to a real person: I find it's easily possible to be drawn to someone in some respects even as I find other aspects of them repellent. That would seem to fit with Anno's intent for the character as well.

Accepting someone despite their flaws is the point of the exercise, no?

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[Reichu]

I'm still wondering why Rei is persistently associated with creepy giggling, leering, insipid bug-eyed grinning, and deformed body part fractals if it isn't meant to have relevance to her overall character. I haven't seen enough Rei analysis really take a good hard look at all of those things.

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"

[Reichu]

I'm still wondering why Rei is persistently associated with creepy giggling, leering, insipid bug-eyed grinning, and deformed body part fractals if it isn't meant to have relevance to her overall character. I haven't seen enough Rei analysis really take a good hard look at all of those things.

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"

[Bagheera]

Reichu wrote:

I'm still wondering why Rei is persistently associated with creepy giggling, leering, insipid bug-eyed grinning, and deformed body part fractals if it isn't meant to have relevance to her overall character. I haven't seen enough Rei analysis really take a good hard look at all of those things.

I'm not sure how fair it is to associate all of those things with her, though. It would be fair to assume that at least some of it is due to madness inspired by having her soul divided (into no less than four parts, apparently), the isolation of being trapped in Eva, being murdered, the confusion of trying to communicate with things that are not you, and so on. Oh yeah, tack on being trapped underground for a few billion years onto that as well.

Had her soul never been divided, what would she be? Perhaps Kaworu's a better estimation of her healthy persona than are any of the incarnations of Rei.

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[NemZ]

Bagheera wrote:

I disagree. The very notion that I have to find Rei pleasant or approachable or comforting or whatever before I can like her as a character is baffling to me.

Apparently we're dealing with different definitions of Creepy then. If something triggers that instinctual "holy shit get that away from me" mode then it's pretty much impossible to characterize a feeling for that thing or person as something I "like". Tolerate perhaps, maybe even fascinate, but definately not like.

Quote:

I'm still wondering why Rei is persistently associated with creepy giggling, leering, insipid bug-eyed grinning, and deformed body part fractals if it isn't meant to have relevance to her overall character. I haven't seen enough Rei analysis really take a good hard look at all of those things.

I guess because I don't see that as Rei. they're all either a low-resolution copy or something that's been cropped out of the picture.

_________________
"IGNORE ME!" - The Galactic Inquisitor
Evangelion is "the equivalent of throwing an Abnormal Psych textbook into a woodchipper, gathering up the little scraps, and pasting them together with robot violence and flaming airborne crosses." - Wax Banks

[Bagheera]

NemZ wrote:

Apparently we're dealing with different definitions of Creepy then. If something triggers that instinctual "holy shit get that away from me" mode then it's pretty much impossible to characterize a feeling for that thing or person as something I "like". Tolerate perhaps, maybe even fascinate, but definately not like.

I used to think that way until I started to appreciate spiders (well, that and learning the difference between liking a work and thinking it's good). Most of them still creep me out, particularly when they're near me, but I kinda like them otherwise. I even think tarantulas are cute! And they don't freak me out since they typically move pretty slowly. Rei is not a spider, of course, but the same principle holds: it's easily possible to find something appealing from a distance even if it would weird you out up close.

Quote:

I guess because I don't see that as Rei. they're all either a low-resolution copy or something that's been cropped out of the picture.

The soul seen in Unit 00 is not. Nor is are the clones or GNR in toto.

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[NemZ]

Bagheera wrote:

The soul seen in Unit 00 is not. Nor is are the clones or GNR in toto.

I don't follow. can you explain that a little more?

_________________
"IGNORE ME!" - The Galactic Inquisitor
Evangelion is "the equivalent of throwing an Abnormal Psych textbook into a woodchipper, gathering up the little scraps, and pasting them together with robot violence and flaming airborne crosses." - Wax Banks

[Bagheera]

NemZ wrote:

I don't follow. can you explain that a little more?

None of it's low-rez copies or stuff that's been edited out of the picture; it's all Rei/Lilith in some form.

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[NemZ]

Bagheera wrote:

None of it's low-rez copies or stuff that's been edited out of the picture; it's all Rei/Lilith in some form.

Ah. See, that's what I meant by 'cropped out of the picture'. Lilith isn't Rei.

_________________
"IGNORE ME!" - The Galactic Inquisitor
Evangelion is "the equivalent of throwing an Abnormal Psych textbook into a woodchipper, gathering up the little scraps, and pasting them together with robot violence and flaming airborne crosses." - Wax Banks

[Bagheera]

NemZ wrote:

Ah. See, that's what I meant by 'cropped out of the picture'. Lilith isn't Rei.

Dude, you don't get to choose your Reis. Rei is part of Lilith. The soul of Rei I (which became the leering ghost in Unit 00) is as much Rei as Rei II, and GNR is much the same. It's all pieces parts of the same soul.

(and don't forget, before she got her soul Rei II was a body in the tank just like the others, giggling madly at her brainless existence. The fact she became a moe girl later on doesn't change that.)

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[Reichu]

Bagheera wrote:

I'm not sure how fair it is to associate all of those things with her, though.

Why is it unfair? Rei Ayanami is whatever people call Rei Ayanami.

Episode 25 wrote:

REI 3: Who am I? REI 2: Rei Ayanami. REI 3: Who are you? TEXT: Rei Ayanami REI 3: You're also Rei Ayanami? REI 2: Yes, I am the thing that is called Rei Ayanami. REI 1: We are all things that are called Rei Ayanami. REI 3: How can we all be me? REI 2: Because everybody calls us Rei Ayanami.

So Rei 1, Rei 2, and Rei 3 are "Rei Ayanami". And by extension of what they say here, the clones are "Rei Ayanami" to Shinji, and GNR is "Rei Ayanami" to Gendo, Shinji, and Fuyutsuki.

Bagheera, so you think the "main culprit" in Rei's weirdness is a matter of madness due to identity fragmentation? (How does that explain the grotesque fractals, tho?) I'll note that all the "weird Rei motifs" are sustained through EoE, even though Rei has by all accounts been unified (returned to Lilith, and all three Rei are hanging out together), and the "internal world" segments show no indications of Rei 1/2/3's mental instability.

On an aside, sometimes I wonder if Rei's bug-eyed smile has anything to do with this:

The expression seems eerily similar...

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"

[Reichu]

Bagheera wrote:

I'm not sure how fair it is to associate all of those things with her, though.

Why is it unfair? Rei Ayanami is whatever people call Rei Ayanami.

Episode 25 wrote:

REI 3: Who am I? REI 2: Rei Ayanami. REI 3: Who are you? TEXT: Rei Ayanami REI 3: You're also Rei Ayanami? REI 2: Yes, I am the thing that is called Rei Ayanami. REI 1: We are all things that are called Rei Ayanami. REI 3: How can we all be me? REI 2: Because everybody calls us Rei Ayanami.

So Rei 1, Rei 2, and Rei 3 are "Rei Ayanami". And by extension of what they say here, the clones are "Rei Ayanami" to Shinji, and GNR is "Rei Ayanami" to Gendo, Shinji, and Fuyutsuki.

Bagheera, so you think the "main culprit" in Rei's weirdness is a matter of madness due to identity fragmentation? (How does that explain the grotesque fractals, tho?) I'll note that all the "weird Rei motifs" are sustained through EoE, even though Rei has by all accounts been unified (returned to Lilith, and all three Rei are hanging out together), and the "internal world" segments show no indications of Rei 1/2/3's mental instability.

On an aside, sometimes I wonder if Rei's bug-eyed smile has anything to do with this:

The expression seems eerily similar...

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"

[NemZ]

Bagheera wrote:

Dude, you don't get to choose your Reis.

Of course I do. A tire is part of a car, but that doesn't mean a tire IS a car. Every cell in your body dies and is replaced but you're still you. Perception of how things are grouped matters quite a lot, and when dealing with Rei that's a very important thing to keep in mind.

It's a pretty damned complicated Venn Diagram though, I'll grant you that.

_________________
"IGNORE ME!" - The Galactic Inquisitor
Evangelion is "the equivalent of throwing an Abnormal Psych textbook into a woodchipper, gathering up the little scraps, and pasting them together with robot violence and flaming airborne crosses." - Wax Banks

[trkk-KAAN]

The only Time she was creepy was in EoE: The End of Evangelion when she morphed with lilth and turn into a giant naked figure with black eyes

[Bagheera]

Reichu wrote:

Why is it unfair? Rei Ayanami is whatever people call Rei Ayanami.

I'm possibly misunderstanding, but I was specifically referring to Armisael's tricks, the bodies jutting out of Lilith's lower half, and other, similar weirdness. If it's associated with Lilith's soul it's fair game IMO, but otherwise it's a visual trick that doesn't reflect on her in any incarnation.

Quote:

Bagheera, so you think the "main culprit" in Rei's weirdness is a matter of madness due to identity fragmentation? (How does that explain the grotesque fractals, tho?)

I am not sure what you mean here.

Quote:

I'll note that all the "weird Rei motifs" are sustained through EoE, even though Rei has by all accounts been unified (returned to Lilith, and all three Rei are hanging out together),

So what? If you sever a finger from a hand the wound does not go away just because you touch the digit to the bloody stump. Why would damage incurred by splitting go away just because the disparate parts are brought together? Indeed, we see in EoTV that the fragments are still disparage, and that's to say nothing of whether or not they're still damaged.

Quote:

and the "internal world" segments show no indications of Rei 1/2/3's mental instability.

Nor does Asuka show signs of her madness nor Shinji of his. All of the ailments acquired during the descent arc seem to have been wiped away (or at least repressed? Suspended? whatever), so why should things be different with Rei?

NemZ wrote:

Of course I do. A tire is part of a car, but that doesn't mean a tire IS a car. Every cell in your body dies and is replaced but you're still you. Perception of how things are grouped matters quite a lot, and when dealing with Rei that's a very important thing to keep in mind.

It is indeed. And this is why you don't get to pick and choose. Rei is Rei, not Rei II. Rei II is part of who Rei is, but she is not the whole -- she is the cells that are replaced, a fragment of the whole. Fixating on her and ignoring the rest makes no more sense than pretending Asuka's pleasant demeanor is representative of who she is (same for Shinji, Misato, etc).

Don't mistake one mask for the whole person.

_________________
Chris Campbell
If you're wondering about the title, go here.
The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass
People's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra
I hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

[Reichu]

Bagheera: Why is what Armisael does "tricks"? The Angel's actions are represented as a statement of Rei's own feelings and desires: Rei admits as much, and we see Shinji surrender to Armisael's embrace. None (IIRC) of the "creepy Rei" visual and aural motifs present in the sequence are exclusive to Rei!Armisael, either -- but that's missing the point. Everything needs to be viewed as part of one big tapestry. Armisael is the Angel that "exposes" and "reflects" Rei, analogous to Arael with Asuka.

The "organic fractal" (for lack of better phrase) motif is observed with Lilith, Armisael, and the harpies. (The replica Spears also grow little legs right as they explode into LCL. Hmm, okay...) In other words:

- Lilith's little legs are quite possibly the deformed leftovers of the Rei cloning project
- Armisael sprouted countless arms and legs along its body during its fusion with Eva-00/Rei
- The harpies' heads burst into deformed faces and random other body parts after 'fusing with Rei'

I'm not sure what you mean by "visual trick".

Quote:

Why would damage incurred by splitting go away just because the disparate parts are brought together? Indeed, we see in EoTV that the fragments are still disparage, and that's to say nothing of whether or not they're still damaged.

They might be, or they might not -- we have no way of knowing how it might have worked out for her. My point was only that we see no signs of damage. What we see instead is a Rei who is familiar, yet different, and has apparently left her old concerns behind and embraced her 'true calling'. When we see her Rei-avatar (not the creepy GNR thing), she usually seems strangely at peace and exudes a deity-like air of being 'one with the universe'.

EoTV isn't useful in this regard, since the dialogue with the three Reis occurs before Rei reunites with Lilith.

Quote:

Nor does Asuka show signs of her madness nor Shinji of his.

During pre-3II (one of the main "internal world" sequences)? They definitely show their "madness" there. Oh, do they ever.

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"

[Reichu]

Bagheera: Why is what Armisael does "tricks"? The Angel's actions are represented as a statement of Rei's own feelings and desires: Rei admits as much, and we see Shinji surrender to Armisael's embrace. None (IIRC) of the "creepy Rei" visual and aural motifs present in the sequence are exclusive to Rei!Armisael, either -- but that's missing the point. Everything needs to be viewed as part of one big tapestry. Armisael is the Angel that "exposes" and "reflects" Rei, analogous to Arael with Asuka.

The "organic fractal" (for lack of better phrase) motif is observed with Lilith, Armisael, and the harpies. (The replica Spears also grow little legs right as they explode into LCL. Hmm, okay...) In other words:

- Lilith's little legs are quite possibly the deformed leftovers of the Rei cloning project
- Armisael sprouted countless arms and legs along its body during its fusion with Eva-00/Rei
- The harpies' heads burst into deformed faces and random other body parts after 'fusing with Rei'

I'm not sure what you mean by "visual trick".

Quote:

Why would damage incurred by splitting go away just because the disparate parts are brought together? Indeed, we see in EoTV that the fragments are still disparage, and that's to say nothing of whether or not they're still damaged.

They might be, or they might not -- we have no way of knowing how it might have worked out for her. My point was only that we see no signs of damage. What we see instead is a Rei who is familiar, yet different, and has apparently left her old concerns behind and embraced her 'true calling'. When we see her Rei-avatar (not the creepy GNR thing), she usually seems strangely at peace and exudes a deity-like air of being 'one with the universe'.

EoTV isn't useful in this regard, since the dialogue with the three Reis occurs before Rei reunites with Lilith.

Quote:

Nor does Asuka show signs of her madness nor Shinji of his.

During pre-3II (one of the main "internal world" sequences)? They definitely show their "madness" there. Oh, do they ever.

_________________
-- Rachel K. Clark (a.k.a. "Reichu")
Avatar: Shinji's mummy
Shinji needs to be cool like Kaji and grow some melons. -Dr. Nick
I shall file this under things that were never given much thought by the production team. -Anonymous_Evafan
Farmer Hoggett knew that little ideas that tickled and nagged and refused to go away should never be ignored, for in them lie the seeds of destiny. -Narrator, "Babe"