I disagree with Kendrix's notion that Asuka absolutely hates/loathes Shinji. Kicking someone when they're down (literally and metaphorically) was the example, and to me that's something people do all the time to those they care about, typically in the form of "I told you so." Sometimes the established relationship makes someone more willing to kick someone when they're down. If Shinji's screwup has doomed them all, his realization of guilt doesn't remove Asuka's need to have her own physical and verbal catharsis. Her actions in no way indicate outright cruelty and disregard, even if she is 'piling on.' That said Kendrix, I will go watch this part again.
Like everyone else, her feelings on him are complicated, with healthy (unhealthy?) doses of both love and hate. In fact there is duality in a number of spectra of their relationship. Attraction/revulsion and nurture/neglect come to mind.
For me, at least, the talk about the specifics of the Bardiel incident, weather he could have done better than the dummy plug, the fighting in 3.0 prior to 4I, are a waste. My interpretation of Asuka's "you didn't save me" line is pretty well summed-up by Jesterhead:
Jesterhead wrote:I still think she's hurt from his lack of action in 2.0 while she was in Unit-03. He froze and couldn't/wouldn't do anything to help her. But when Rei was in a similar(ish) situation he was willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING in the world to save her.
I think the 14 years has only made her more bitter about the lack of any attempt of a rescue for her. And to make matters worse, he doesn't stop talking about Rei from the moment he wakes up.
She doesn't just see Near Third Impact as stupid reckless thing to do by Shinji, she takes it as a personal insult.
Basically, he had the opportunity (and apparently the ability and willpower) to end the world to save her, and he chose not to. Weather he actually had an opportunity or not is irrelevant, because she thinks he did. She was unconscious and in a hellish dream-state so there was plenty of time (14 years) to misremember and fantasize about the way events went down. Not to be cliche, but not all wounds heal with time, some merely fester. As an adolescent girl yearning to grow up quickly, I have always figured Asuka to be one drawn to the trappings of high romance, secretly longing for grand romantic gestures and explicit declarations of love. These would serve as validation of her adulthood, and in the case of Shinji, prove of her own desirability and power, because such a declaration would go against his nature. Her notion of defined gender roles conflicts with her own assertive personality, leading her to attempt to provoke Shinji sexually with the intent that he would then be the man she wants him to be (ie, not a catatonic whiny apologetic bitch) (walls of Jericho, breast expansion, kiss scene, 'you can help me. you won't even hold me'). I would say that destroying the world to save someone is about extreme as you can get when it comes to declarations of love, so now go read the first sentence of this paragraph again. I think its pretty safe to say that if he hadn't saved Rei in 2.0, Asuka wouldn't be saying this line in 3.0.
Anyway, I've committed the cardinal sin of merging Soryu with Shikinami, but I maintain that they're two characters with the same spirit, even if different things happen to them and they make different decisions.
I don't mean to say that she's holding onto some silly 14-year-old crush, but it is equally silly to expect her feelings to be unconflicted or to stawman those that point the conflict out as deluded shippers. For one, I don't think that Shinji proclaiming his love for her (if he has any) would make her melt like butter.
Na7e wrote:Ask and you shall receive.lol SPOILER: Show
This is the best thing ever.