Animal motifs in Rebuild

[ChaddyManPrime]

^
Bro, you really don't give Space Jesus much credit, do you? No one is Irredeemable, especially after a Heroic Sacrifice.

[ElMariachi]

I think Mari hs basically taken Shinji's spot as Asuka's quasi-sibling...

Unlike Shinji, who wants to avoid any "enemy-like" sustained imagery, Mari doesn't mind being Asuka's "rival" in a playful way, while Shinji's conflict-evading nature would stop such a thing pretty fast.

He doesn't.... even CAN'T compare....


Mari is, essentially, the half-sister she could't have anywhere else, at least not in a "fast" way... what Shinji might've become under different cicumstances, if his avoidant nature didn't pose a risk to any "friendly" rivalry...

It's the depht of how far Shinji has lost...

I'm not sure Shinji was taking the spot of "half-sibling" or even that his relationship with Asuka was destined to take this turn had Bardiel and the time skip not happened. It looks more like they were heading toward being very good friends like in the manga had Shinji's relationship with Rei continued and none of them discovered about Rei's origins. (or maybe even a romantic relationship, but that's not important)

Besides, Mari has a big advantage that Shinji hasn't: she's a girl, that mean there are things and feelings that Asuka can confide with Mari that should never be able to do with Shinji.
But even then, why would Shinji have "lost"? That's not a competition to have the exclusivity of Asuka's heart, Mari and Shinji can very well be Asuka's friends, albeit with different circumstances (again, Mari is a girl)

But we saw too little of Mari and Asuka interacting (none of these moments being outside of a battle situation context) to really be able to ascertain how deep Mari and Asuka's relationship goes.

[El Squibbonator]

This has gone off topic. I'd like to return the subject to the possible animal motifs ( Shinji=puppy, Asuka=cat, etc.) and what they may imply about their role in the story.

[Sachi]

Squibs: the pointless thread bumping needs to stop. I've told you once before that that sort of behavior is spammy and has no place here. If the thread dies, let it die.

[El Squibbonator]

Sorry. I won't do it again, I promise (well, I'll try).

Anyway, here's what I think I've noticed about what the animal motifs imply about the characters and their relationships and roles:

Shinji-puppy.
This suggests that Shinji defines himself by his ability (or lack thereof ) to obey and please those whom he is working for, be it NERV or WILLE. His greatest character flaw is that he allows himself to be endlessly manipulated by those in power over him.

Rei (pre-Q)-fish
Like a fish in a bowl, Rei is able to observe the human world around her but is limited in the ways she can interact with it.

Kaworu- horse
The horse, especially the white horse, is an enduring symbol of freedom and beauty. As the one being who wishes to liberate Shinji from his life of misery, Kaworu symbolically fills this role in the third movie.

Mari-- dog(pre-Q)/cat(Q)
Upon her initial arrival to NERV in the second movie, Mari had some doglike personality traits, such as an emphasis on smell. When she returned in Q, she seemingly abandoned these in favor of a feline motif. For the probable significance of this, see below.

Asuka--cat
Asuka in Rebuild is heavily associated with cats, especially in Q. The fact that Mari also adopts a cat motif during Q implies that she has developed a close relationship with Asuka, which may be anything from a friendship to a romance.

[Bagheera]

Sorry. I won't do it again, I promise (well, I'll try).

You've been beating the same drum so much it's crushed any interest I had in the topic. No one seems to have anything to say about it, so let it die already and quit the spamming.

[El Squibbonator]

Ok. It was interesting while it lasted. In any case, do you think these motifs will remain the same in the fourth movie?

[TMBounty_Hunter]

I tried searching the forum and I can't find a mention of this, so might as well shove this in here.


MAYA LABELS ALL HER STUFF WITH A KITTY DRAWING

[El Squibbonator]

I've known about that, and I think the general consensus is that it's a reference to her relationship with Ritsuko--who, if you'll recall, is stated to "fill the holes in her life with cats." Interestingly, this doesn't show up at all in Rebuild, and the cat motif is given to Asuka and Mari instead.

[Chuckman]

If Shinji had only remained on the Wunder a few more minutes he'd have been invited to the hourly lesbian orgy.

[Bagheera]

If Shinji had only remained on the Wunder a few more minutes he'd have been invited to the hourly lesbian orgy.

Hourly? Why would they wait that long?

[Guy Nacks]

Scissor me timbers!

[ChaddyManPrime]

He would have rejected it anyways, he always does

[El Squibbonator]

Topic, please.

[Sailor Star Dust]

If you're not a Staff member, please don't act like one. Thanks.

[El Squibbonator]

Sorry. Guess I got a little out of line.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

I tried searching the forum and I can't find a mention of this, so might as well shove this in here.

It's worth noting that this cat appeared on Maya's laptop in NGE, EoE, and also in the "imagine in your own form" sequence in EoTV episode #26. Anyone care to go screenshot hunting?

[Chuckman]

Sounds like Maya picked up on Ritsuko's cat thing after all, then. That's cute.

[El Squibbonator]

Funny thing is, in both of these cases (Maya and Ritsuko, Asuka and Mari) cats are used as a motif for two same-sex characters in a possible romantic relationship.

[ElMariachi]

I tried searching the forum and I can't find a mention of this, so might as well shove this in here.

She even write her name on western letters! So kawaï!
By the way, she has a really shitty handwriting.

Funny thing is, in both of these cases (Maya and Ritsuko, Asuka and Mari) cats are used as a motif for two same-sex characters in a possible romantic relationship.

You're aware that the "possibility" of Asuka and Mari being in a romantic relationship is complete fanon, right? There's absolutely no proof in Q that they are in a romantic relationship, except maybe the fact the cat imagery, which is also a stock imagery to make anything cute and could had been used for that purpose in the movie.