Another thought comes into my head... This one is leveled at such skeptics as ol' AA.
Many,
many,
MANY of the NGE fans I have encountered in my journeys have stalwartly refused to acknowledge, or even consider in the first place, that SoLs, Evas, hell, even the Children of Adam have sex, that is, are capable of being female or male. This flies in the face of EVERYTHING, although until now I didn't have the full picture as to why. (Although my own recognition of the Evas' biological precedent has certainly proven itself on the deepest possible level, in a way that others will hopefully comprehend by the time I have cried my final "tear".)
I have long suspected that this frequent determination has something to do, fundamentally, with the Eva-tachi's somewhat "alien" nature -- the foot taken into "uncanny valley", wherein we are presented with something very, very human, but it doesn't
quite fit our own expectations and causes that commonplace psychic dissonance I've frequently encountered in the reactions to my artwork*. I have little doubt that if the Evas were padded down with ample fat deposits in the "appropriate places", this problem wherein their femininity is not acknowledged would not even exist. Breasts - m00bz = female. This is a basic, albeit very flawed and restrictive, expression of human logic that proceeds like so:
Human + no breasts = not female.
Human + no breasts + not male = genderless.
Again, a very, very restrictive world view. The variety of other animals on this planet amply demonstrates that the same basic morphological framework can express itself in a huge variety of ways, thanks to the flexibility of genetics and the power of evolution. We have not been witness to the full potential of the humanoid form because (1) all other hominids are extinct, (2) we ourselves have stopped evolving (due to our technologically-aided severance from natural selection), and (3) because the humanoid form is somewhat counterintuitive in the grand scheme of Terran biology. (The only other animal I am aware of that takes on an even remotely similar stance for bipedal locomotion is the PENGUIN, a bird specialized for an aquatic environment.) Evas, ultimately, stem from (
bunshin, anyone?) a variation on the humanoid form wherein the male/female sexual dimorphism prevalent in our own species does not exist. (Then, we never see what the males look like, so who knows where their species might have taken it...)
Another thought that occurs to me about why Anno and Yamashita chose such a design for the Evas may have some kind of connection to one of NGE's many recurring themes: that is, the audience is confronted with something that encourages them, forces even, to question their own preconceptions and expectations about various aspects of human nature and the human condition. Shinji exemplifies this to the full, owing to his "femininity" and the outrageous backlash his character has received because of it. This says, I think, MUCH more about the audience in question that anything else: It is no secret that advances in gender egalitarianism are often impeded by the frequently passe preconceptions about how females and males are "supposed" to behave and take expression as individuals, and the way in which NGE questions this ultimately ties into the theme of human potential (i.e., being restricted by nothing in life but our own search for happiness), which is something for another time and place.
The Evas -- and the SoLs -- serve as a variation upon this, as they stir up the audience (or the more perceptive members of the audience, anyhow) in a similar, but somewhat more obvious, manner as the COAs, wherein we are presented with a vision of humanity that does not conform to our own standards.
But to get back to the point of where this is all going, and how it all ultimately fits. Indeed, WHY it must be so for NGE's premises to work.
An integral, INSEVERIBLE part of what makes humanity what it is: sexuality. Our species' own ... unique approach to the subject of propagation and how we've let it complicate our ways to such an enormous degree, for better or for worse. But the point is, without human sexuality, you only have a
very incomplete picture of "human". This is why NGE, a show about human nature, touches upon sexuality from most of the available angles: man-woman, boy-girl, man-girl, woman-boy, woman-woman, boy-boy, man-man, man-boy... You can find at least one example, however deeply hidden, for each of these many possibilities. (Also worth noting is how NGE does not skirt the issue of sexual tension and magnetism among RELATIVES, either, which is a very daring and honest move, IMO. "Leave no taboo unturned.")
In NGE, the sci-fi motif of the Human Lifecycle comes into play with the FAR (and how the Lilim -- or, rather, one among their numbers "chosen" for the privilege -- eventually fulfill their role in this eternal legacy). Now, while I won't get into the gruesome details yet, the FAR are intended to represent a prior incarnation of US. Or, rather, we are an offshoot of THEM. They are the humans without whom all other humans (SoLs, Lilim, Children of Adam, Evas) could not have been. Not only is the basic human mold passed along (even though our status as highly specialized apes makes us a variation on a theme and an example of "fated convergence"**), but the contents of the human heart and the basic human condition are, as well. On a metabiological level, we receive what the FAR have bequeathed upon us; that we are the only LDOs on Earth to achieve the "human mold" symbolizes our special status among LDOs, which I will keep to myself for now...
That said, sexuality is SUCH a basal and primitive aspect of humanity, there is no way that this could not have had precedents in our "First Ancestors". We are a version of them that simply looks slightly different. The idea that they themselves did not have males and females, sex, intimacy, eroticism, etc., is a
ludicrous violation of the "endless propagation of humanity" theme. (Also consider why in the
world sex would be missing from the FAR's legacy.) Adam and Lilith are Mothers, precisely because of "where they are coming from". It is
no accident that females or, more specifically, mothers -- due to their importance to the Human Existence -- are the ones who are chosen to ultimately fulfill the Human Lifecycle.
There is a reason why we only ever see females -- and mothers, at that -- put into Evas. Likewise, I suspect that my "policy" of "assigning genders" to
Adam no kodomotachi was not a totally whimsical idea after all, but a very justified one.
As I will detail in another place, too, this will eventually tie into my own thoughts about the untainted eroticism and sensuality that Kaworu fundamentally represents. And how it relates back to his blue-haired counterpart. And who both of them originally were / truly are.
Please, people, have a little faith. Cut those Evas open, and you will find ovaries after all.
* In case you are unfamiliar with it, it explores the Evas' inherent biological nature to the full. Over the years, I have systematically stripped away the artificial covering to reach the pure entity beneath, while attempting to formulate the most logical and intuitive depiction of them. (Interpretation is necessary due to the oftentimes extreme level of inconsistency in the show and external sources.) This "urge" ultimately stemmed from my passionate interest, in the latter half of the 90's, in the field of paleontological restoration, that is, illustration that attempts to "recreate", from the available biological remains, a plausible recreation of what extinct animals may have looked like in the flesh.
** And I am only now considering the means by which metaphysical biology may ultimately account for, in a very logical manner, why this happened...
Originally posted on: 28-Dec-2005, 15:51 GMT