Bagheera wrote:The whole of the adult cast would like a few words with you. Well, except for Aoba. He don't need no one, 'cept his air guitar!
Asuka would also like a word with you. I mean, it's not like she got anywhere with it, but you can't say it wasn't on her mind.
Love with an air guitar should be recognized, of course. As for the other adults, all of their respective lovers/interests are dead by the time Instrumentality starts. Kaji died on Misato, Misato dies on Hyuga, Gendo kills Ritsuko, therefore Ritsuko died on Maya.... everyone’s cold, alone, and afraid. Whatever romance/interest they had in other people was taken away from them, so it isn’t there anymore.
I’m not sure what was going on between the adult characters during instrumentality in EoE because we’re not shown. Even including EoTV into the mix, Misato’s relationships are hardly casted in a romantic light. She’s cold, alone, and afraid again.
And with Asuka, like I said, she said that she either wanted all of Shinji or none of Shinji, but also wanted to prove herself with Kaji. I tend to see this as more confusion than a solid romance, though I will agree that something might have been starting between them in the show. But by the time EoE hits, Asuka is taken away from Shinji just like everyone else was taken away from each other. And I can hardly call the hospital scene romantic.
I like how EoE makes an effort to strip everyone from their respective lovers or interests prior to Instrumentality (and in most cases before the movie even begins), but out still results in that romance being taken away, leaving everyone cold, alone, and afraid. (Not even Aoba’s air guitar was enough to save him from his fears.)