Jornophelanthas wrote:Asuka believes herself to be perfect.
Doubtful. While that's the face she shows to the world the conversation with the doll indicates exactly the opposite. We still don't know much of anything about her character, of course, but all indications so far suggest that she's lonely, and that she relies heavily on Eva because it's the only thing in her life she can trust. Her rejection of others seems to stem not from arrogance but rather from ineptitude -- boys hit on her, ignore them, play Wonderswan. People go ga-ga at the aquarium, pay no attention, back to Wonderswan. Why is she so afraid? Unclear. Perhaps we'll learn more in Q. Regardless, what
is clear is that she is averse to social interaction when she shows up and gradually gets over it as time goes by (only to regress at the end, but more on that below).
After she is faced with the 8th Angel ("Sahaquiel"), she learns that she is not so perfect after all, because she chokes and cannot make the shot without assistance. She is forced to accept Rei's and Shinj's help.
You've said this several times now, and it's not true. She did not "choke". Indeed, she managed to land the killing blow quite splendidly, wrecking the hell out of the Angel and saving the planet in the process. Her performance there was pretty much flawless. But that battle wasn't ever about technical ability -- what Shikinami learned there was less about her own abilities than it was about her awareness of the fact that being perfect and awesome sometimes isn't enough to get the job done. Sometimes you need help.
Remember, this isn't Soryu we're talking about. She's not an untested newbie who is desperate to prove herself so she can feel like she's worth a damn -- indeed, in her debut battle she soloed an Angel in glorious fashion, with none of the desperation of either Ikari or Makinami (something Soryu never managed. This is the main difference between the two, in fact -- Shikinami received that critical early success and validation, and was able to move forward productively as a result. Soryu never really got either and could only disintegrate thereafter in the face of repeated failure and rejection). She had a plan, she stuck to it, and she killed the fuck out of that Angel before she even hit the ground. She's earned her bragging rights. But what she found with Sahaquiel is that that doesn't necessarily matter; sometimes life cheats and you need help. But that's okay! Forget about perfection, what's important here is that she learned that she doesn't have to be alone -- others can and will help her when she needs it. This is an important lesson, the same one Shinji learned in 1.xx only in highly compressed fashion. Her interactions with Shinji and Rei thereafter reflect this -- she's no longer focused on proving herself and instead is trying to overcome her loneliness. And of course, that's where she really chokes: she gives up on Shinji too easily, letting Rei have her little dinner party so she can retreat back into Eva. Bardiel was the price of her failure there.
From here, who knows? If Q is all grimdark she might use this as an excuse to run away altogether, but OTOH it might bring everything together and instead present her as a mature, fully realized character. The previews certainly seem to point to that route, but we'll just have to wait and see.
It would be interesting to see Kaworu and Asuka interact this time. Although I expect the only topic they might be able to discuss would be Shinji.
Given the NME's treatment of its female characters thus far that wouldn't surprise me, but it would be disappointing. I'm not sure it will matter much though; it looks like Kaworu's main conflicts will be with Shinji and (perhaps separately?) the other girls. It seems Shikinami will be tending to her own affairs.
