How to write Mana Kirishima?

[PanzerEVA]

I'm writing a new fic that includes Mana in it. However, I don't know how she would act as I've never seen her source material.

I'd really appreciate some tips as I tend to do things REALLY badly if I know nothing about them, other than 'it existed'.

[amitakartok]

Her source material is up on Youtube in its entirety. I can't really compare her to anyone else in the cast, for the simple reason that no similar character exists in the cast. But as a rule of thumb, she's much more cheery and energetic than anyone else in the cast, and really likes Pen-Pen. She's also very friendly towards Shinji right from the beginning (she might be where Anno took Mari's friendliness from); whether she pretended it or not isn't really relevant, as she genuinely falls for him by the end and remains just as cheery.

She also seems to have a bit of a perverted streak - or at the very least, she's much more open about sexuality than, say, Asuka. There's a scene of her watching Shinji change into his plugsuit and nonchalantly comments on how pale he is, even after he had her promise not to peek. In one of the endings, she outright flashes him full-nude after exiting the shower (and laughs her ass off at his reaction), even though she explicitly asked him not to peek earlier. In another ending, she pretty much strips Shinji to dry his rain-drenched clothes, even his underwear. Later in the same ending, they have a conversation where Shinji talks about himself being a man, Mana replies that if he became a man then she became a woman, Shinji remarks that it came out sounding a bit perverted and she pretty much says "Yup." without a hint of embarrassment.

She's also voiced by Rei's voice actress, but you'd hardly notice it without hearing genki!Rei from episode 26 first; listen for yourself.


If you need a third opinion, seek out Gundam Kaiser on FF.net. He's a major fan of Mana and is writing a Mana-centric story himself, so he can definitely help you.

[Grand Duke of Yashima]

You wouldn't be the first to do a Mana-oriented fic, but definitely watch the playthroughs first on YouTube. If you have the time and patience for it, the actual Girlfriend of Steel game has a (fan-cracked) English version out there but considering that the game isn't all that "playable" you'll be alright just to find the videos of the walkthrough.

The nice thing about GOS was that the creators were thoughtful enough to come up with open-ended conclusions that would allow some license for fanfics to carry on the story. Good luck!

[NemZ]

Mana is hard to get a read on because you have to remember that the entire game she's playing a role for the purpose of getting close to Shinji. How much of what she does is genuine? Nobody knows... maybe not even her. There's probably a good deal of doublethink and denial involved.

She was raised to be a professional soldier but without Asuka's pride or Rei's selflessness. Mana's very goal oriented and determined, but also cares about her partners and ultimately doesn't really want to actually hurt anyone. She does what she feels she has to, much like Shinji but with less willfullness or questioning.

Mana is blatantly flirty, but in a flattering rather than prideful manner, or through self-deprecating intentional 'mistakes'. She dances around between being modest and shameless... basically she's rather pleasantly teasing, not hurtful. She is a bit mischievous and secretive, definately capable of being manipulative, but not in a way that comes across as domineering... she convinces people to giver her what she wants in a way that makes them think it was their idea.