Moments When You Hated/Were Frustrated With Characters

[BlueBasilisk]

I'm disappointed that Mari and Asuka do not have British and German accents! Does that count?

I thought I'd mentioned it in this thread before, but I've always been a little disappointed with the way Misato handled Asuka's breakdown in the final stretch. It seemed like she didn't try to intervene until Asuka ran away and section 2 found her in a bathtub. The director's cut adds that scene where Asuka's in the bathroom screaming her heart out and it cuts to Misato sitting in her room with this sort of angry expression on her face. She's heartbroken over Kaji's death and trying to follow up where he left off, but still.

[silvermoonlight]

I thought I'd mentioned it in this thread before, but I've always been a little disappointed with the way Misato handled Asuka's breakdown in the final stretch. It seemed like she didn't try to intervene until Asuka ran away and section 2 found her in a bathtub. The director's cut adds that scene where Asuka's in the bathroom screaming her heart out and it cuts to Misato sitting in her room with this sort of angry expression on her face. She's heartbroken over Kaji's death and trying to follow up where he left off, but still.

I totality agree with your thoughts on how Misato handles Asuka's break down that was really awful.

[Bagheera]

I thought I'd mentioned it in this thread before, but I've always been a little disappointed with the way Misato handled Asuka's breakdown in the final stretch. It seemed like she didn't try to intervene until Asuka ran away and section 2 found her in a bathtub. The director's cut adds that scene where Asuka's in the bathroom screaming her heart out and it cuts to Misato sitting in her room with this sort of angry expression on her face. She's heartbroken over Kaji's death and trying to follow up where he left off, but still.

That scene is one of the few real gripes I have with NGE, since it paints Misato in a really bad light. I wish that cut to her showed her looking helpless and/or distressed, since it would indicate that she was aware of Asuka's breakdown but wasn't equipped to stop it. She literally did not know what to do, and could only stand by helplessly while the girl disintegrated before her. I think that's what we're meant to believe happened, but that shot does a really poor job of conveying that impression.

[Glor]

Well, one of Eva's themes is an inability to communicate. People are hard to deal with, and it's difficult for most people to see outside of their own paradigms, so getting frustrated at someone else for throwing their baggage all over the place when you have plenty enough to deal with is understandable. People are selfish, and we see that in all of Anno's characters.

[BC Baron]

The director's cut adds that scene where Asuka's in the bathroom screaming her heart out...

Sometimes I feel sympathy for Asuka, but I must admit that it can be challenging. For example, every time this scene (where she's talking about how much she hates the idea of sharing a bathroom with Shinji and Misato) is brought up, my immediate reaction is usually along the lines of:

"Listen, Asuka, if it really bothers you all that much, I'm fairly certain there are no other residents in that entire apartment complex, so there must be some vacant living quarters nearby which come fully equipped with the latest in state-of-the-art indoor plumbing technology. Perhaps you could make use of those facilities instead. Of course, you would then be responsible for cleaning your own toilet/bathtub if you wish to maintain basic levels of sanitation. Nevertheless, I'm quite confident that you possess all the necessary skills to raid NERV's supply closet for a plunger, bleach-based cleaning products, and all the toilet paper you'd ever need to 'stay in business', as it were."

In this one isolated case at least, I think it's really a question of whether you're interested in solving your problems, or if you'd rather just talk about them.

[Bagheera]

. . . how long has it been since you dealt with a 13-year-old child (or were one yourself)?

[BC Baron]

^ Well, way back there in my adolescence (when the dinosaurs were just starting to die off), I seem to remember placing a high value on my personal space and privacy. Unfortunately, my family's living quarters were rather modest and we only had the one bathroom. My brother and I shared a bedroom for most of my youth, so I would've been quite eager for any opportunity to have a "Lovely Suite" I could call my own.

I always found it a bit odd that Asuka never submitted an official request for a place somewhere nearby once her synchronization training with Shinji was completed, especially considering how much dirt cheap, empty real estate was readily available. If she elected to move next door, further down the hall from Misato's flat or on another floor of the same building, she would still have the freedom to come back whenever she felt like it for meals or just to hang out and watch TV. It's not as though Misato or Shinji would've seen this as some sort of betrayal and turned their backs on her.

[Bagheera]

That's true enough. And Asuka did rather want to live on her own, and is about as good a case as you can make for an emancipated minor (and we have the precedent of Rei right there in the setting, so . . . ). Bit of a lost opportunity there, I suppose.

[pwhodges]

And Shinji was supposed to be on his own, until Misato stepped in and overrode it.

[KingXanaduu]

Makes you wonder what would've happened if they CHOSE to live alone, like Shinji refusing to live with Misato, cause he's used to all his life, or Asuka because of what Baron mentioned.

Would make a nice thought experiment for a fic, but I have a feeling it would've made things worse for them.

[Xxx_Generic Name_Xxx]

The whole ep. when Shinji was running away from Misato and I said"Shinji, go fucking to Misato you little peace of shit!"

[Guy Nacks]

Hikari blaming and yelling at Shinji for making Asuka "cry" when Rei simply synchs better with him on the Twister game. Hell, even Gendo's engaging of the Dummy System to eviscerate Unit-03 with Toji still inside made more logical sense (as loathsome and anger-inducing in me as it was) seeing as how everyone would have been fucked otherwise since Shinji refused to do anything.

[Sachi]

Hikari blaming and yelling at Shinji for making Asuka "cry" when Rei simply synchs better with him on the Twister game.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. So, Asuka insults Shinji for being slow and impossible to work with, which prompts Misato to pair Rei with Shinji instead, and they perform better together, proving that Asuka is the one that is difficult to work with, much to her shame, which causes her to cry and run off, and somehow Shinji is the asshole?

The only explanation is the middle school politics of love and sexual discovery. Being fourteen is strange.

[BC Baron]

^ This one's sort of a tough call for me. I tend to cut Hikari a great deal of slack, since, in just about every other appearance she made throughout the series, she seemed like such a sweet, kind-hearted individual.

She's responsible enough to handle the role of Class Rep, spends much of her free time cooking for her father and two sisters to help keep their household running smoothly, and possesses the depth to look past the superficial and still find the good in people (even when it comes to Touji, who's fairly skilled at keeping his redeeming qualities safely hidden). Plus, based on the attention she pays to Pen-Pen while visiting Misato's apartment in the "Dance Like You Want to Win" episode, I suspect she's probably quite kind to animals.

These all strike me as rather positive personality traits, so it's hard for me to stay mad at her for expecting Shinji to apologize. I mean, I agree that Asuka was behaving like a bit of a diva in that scene, and according to the transitive property, Hikari was also in the wrong for siding with her. However, she saw that her best friend was upset and cared enough to pull rank on Shinji and encourage him to act and try to defuse the situation (and based on what takes place in the following scene, her quick assessment of Shinji as the only person capable of calming Asuka down, seemed to be pretty much the right call in that situation).

At the end of the day I think Hikari was just trying to demonstrate some loyalty to a friend and, as much as I tend to vigorously defend Shinji from the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism, I still have to give her some credit for doing what she thought was right.

[Bagheera]

^Pretty much this. I could be wrong here, but IMO this is a very Japanese scene, and something Americans really aren't equipped to understand. When you view the characters through the lens of individualism Hikari's position doesn't make any sense, but when you view them through the typical Japanese cultural approach to things it's much more comprehensible. The key issue here is not "Shinji did something bad to Asuka" so much as "something bad happened to Asuka on Shinji's watch." Shinji's important to her, and he's an important part of her life, so when something bad happens to her because of him, even if it's not his fault, it falls to him to fix things.

(that said, I realize the above is very culturally monochromatic, and that there are plenty of Japanese out there who would say, "oh, fuck that noise" and reject that entire line of reasoning. But as far as cultural stereotypes go I think there's something to it.)

[DarkBluePhoenix]

I'm sure people have already mentioned this one: Shinji, Eoe, hospital, complete asshole. Other than that, all his whining and his inability to stand up for himself.

Asuka: Pretty much any time she acted like a bitch towards Shinji.

Misato: When she tried to be a pedo and bang Shinji to make him feel better and when she ignored Asuka's pain of her falling sync scores.

Kensuke: Whenever he fanboys hard for the Evangelions, or is taking pervy pictures.

Rei: When she slapped Shinji for bad mouthing his own asshat of a father.

Toji: When he acts like an ignoramus, or is a perv.

Ritsuko: Anytime she talks.

[CommanderFish]

Ritsuko: Anytime she talks.

Did you really hate Ritsuko from day 1? I mean, I know she doesn't treat the pilots very well, but there are other aspects to her character, I think. In other words, is that hyperbole, or do you mean that literally?

[DarkBluePhoenix]

Did you really hate Ritsuko from day 1? I mean, I know she doesn't treat the pilots very well, but there are other aspects to her character, I think. In other words, is that hyperbole, or do you mean that literally?

No, that was what the initial reason why I disliked her. However, after watching the series a few times through, I picked up on a few things.

She's a hypocrite: She says she hates her mother, but acts just like her. Riding the Gendo train, do her mother's exact job at NERV, and in the manga, she choked out Rei II for giving her lip. Add in her working for Wille to destroy NERV essentially ignoring the fact she helped build NERV and the Evangelions, just makes her even more hypocritical. Also her little "everyone is going to die when I press this" bullshit in EoE, her mother's identity as a women says no, while Ritsuko's identity as a woman is trying to fuck over Gendo by destroying his plan.

She's a bitch: She acts cold towards others, even at times towards her best friend Misato. She treats the pilots with little or no respect, considering what they have to do, but she treats Shinji the best out of all of them. She treats Rei like she's a ragdoll, and I don't think she really sees her as a person (spare parts and all) Now I realize her job is to keep the Evas working, but she could have a little compassion, considering she gets to stay inside the base while children fight for humanity, she could turn it down from 11 to like a 5 or 6. She even blew apart all the Rei's in the tank because she was a little mad, and exposed what Rei really was to Shinji.

In essence I disliked her at the beginning, and held out a bit of hope, but as the show went on, she became even more of a dislikeable person, and so, every time I hear her talk in the anime or movies, I tune her out and roll my eyes. I know there are other aspects to her character, like her being sexually abused by SEELE, which is as reprehensible as what Shinji did to Asuka in EoE, but the other aspects of her character, don't make up for her bad qualities, even if she is only living in her mother's shadow.

[Reichu]

Ritsuko definitely has a compassionate side, which is more evident in the first half of the series and in the episode 21 flashbacks. On some level, she cares about the pilots' well-being, expressing as much directly to Gendo (in a context where putting on airs would serve no function whatsoever). Ritsuko is meant to be a tragic figure, I think. She understands human behavior quite well, but she can't apply that information usefully toward her own life. Her warm and good-humored aspects are unfortunately buried by her lack of respect for herself and the unresolved Mommy and Daddy complexes that drive much of her behavior. She's pitiful and pathetic and NGE wouldn't be what it is without broken people like her.

[CommanderFish]

^I agree with all of this.
And while I can understand most of the "She's a bitch" line of reasoning--although I may not agree with all of it--I find it difficult to view her hypocritical ways with anything more than pity. I mean, treating others apathetically is one thing, but she really has no one but herself to hurt by being a hypocrite. Just like every other character in the show, she's lying to herself in order to protect herself from a harsh truth--for her, it's the truth that while she may hate her mother, she was still influenced by her in some major ways, and that part of the person that she hates so much will always be within her, guiding her life choices (represented by the MAGI and all). Heck, she even dyed her hair blonde in a vain attempt to separate herself from her mother, while her eyebrows stay black--but it seems like you already know this stuff. Personally, I just don't see how this aspect of her character can be approached with anger instead of pity.

To each his own, though. She is a fictional character, after all.

...her being sexually abused by SEELE, which is as reprehensible as what Shinji did to Asuka in EoE...

Wait, wouldn't actual sexual abuse be much worse than what Shinji did? I mean, don't get me wrong, what Shinji did was disgusting, (albeit genius from a character perspective, but I digress), but rape is... well it's rape. You can't really equate that to much else.

Also,

Riding the Gendo train

Is that an EVAbridged reference?