Is episode 7 skippable?

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby BusterMachine4 » Wed Apr 21, 2021 9:18 pm

View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:
View Original PostBusterMachine4#920907 wrote:I would recommend watching the whole show on the first watch through. But if you want to skip an episode or two to make for a more condensed rewatch experience, Episode 10 would be the first to go in my opinion. Unless you're an Aushin shipper, it doesn't have much value.

Episode 10 establishes Asuka already graduated from university and begins the (one-sided) rivalry between Asuka and Rei over Shinji. It's also the first and only time we see Nerv go on the attack against an angel before it strikes, and Gendo talking with the Committee about why they're doing it (which helps answer the question of "why don't they do this all the time"). It's also the first time someone else comments on Misato's scar (we see it for the first time in episode 07, I think) before we get the full explanation in episode 12.

But like I said, almost all the plot/character stuff in Episode 10 is established much better in another episode. Asuka and Rei’s rivalry was established much better in Episodes 9 and 11, and Misato’s scar was established much better in Episode 12. Even the new stuff isn’t really important: Asuka being a college graduate was only mentioned once and felt really out of character, and the explanation for why NERV doesn’t attack the Angels first (they don’t know where they come from) was already implied.
And most importantly, it has Shinji literally saving Asuka at the end of the episode! That's not skippable, it's a formative character moment!

Which is why I said “unless you’re an Asushin shipper.” But unless you are one, even that can’t truly be considered a “formative character moment”: it’s only mentioned twice afterwards, and other than that it’s mostly forgotten about.

So in the end, I’m still fine with people skipping Episode 10 on rewatches if they want to. I don’t feel like the minor character stuff in the episode really does enough to justify the creepy sexual “comedy.”

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Nuclear Lunchbox » Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:17 pm

Just because something appears more than once doesn't make it redundant. Seeing Misato's scar builds up to an eventual reveal, rather than just dumping it on us out of the blue. Asuka and Rei's rivalry appearing multiple times grounds it more firmly than if we only saw it once and forgot about it. Asuka graduating college ispart of her character, and Nerv actually getting to go attack an angel first happens in precisely zero other episodes-- this is the only time we get to see it. All of these events help to more solidly establish the world of Evangelion. Things happening in one episode and then happening again in another episode aren't redundant, they establish consistent behavior that lets us be surprised when people do something different.

Shinji saving Asuka is hardly just a shipping moment. It's an important detail of the relationship between the two to understand when exploring how Shinji and Asuka interact with one another, because even if it's only mentioned twice, we need to know it happened and we get to see it happen. Asuka, the great Unit 02 pilot, getting saved by Shinji, who only got chosen because he was daddy's little boy? It serves to contextualize the relationship between the two not just for us, but for Asuka herself.

If you want to skip the episode because you don't like the sexual comedy, that's fine. However, I'm going to firmly argue against the notion that this episode should be skipped for somehow being worthless when it contains so much character gold. It's hardly minor, serving to further flesh out the world of Evangelion and the people who inhabit it. The more time we spend with these characters, the happier we are when things go well for them and the more we empathize when things don't. Episode 10 is an important part of Evangelion, just like all the other episodes.

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby BusterMachine4 » Thu Apr 22, 2021 9:32 am

View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:Just because something appears more than once doesn't make it redundant. Seeing Misato's scar builds up to an eventual reveal, rather than just dumping it on us out of the blue. Asuka and Rei's rivalry appearing multiple times grounds it more firmly than if we only saw it once and forgot about it. Asuka graduating college ispart of her character, and Nerv actually getting to go attack an angel first happens in precisely zero other episodes-- this is the only time we get to see it. All of these events help to more solidly establish the world of Evangelion. Things happening in one episode and then happening again in another episode aren't redundant, they establish consistent behavior that lets us be surprised when people do something different.

But it’s not like the things in Episode 10 only get mentioned once outside of it. That consistent behavior is preserved whether you watch the episode or not. Asuka and Rei’s rivalry is developed throughout the series, and Episode 10 doesn’t really introduce anything new to the formula. Misato’s scar might only be mentioned once if you cut the episode, but it’s hardly an important detail anyways.

The world establishment stuff in the episode isn’t really important either. Asuka graduating college may be part of her character, but it’s not an important part, and it doesn’t even really make sense for her character: it builds the expectation of Asuka being some sort of child prodigy, but she doesn’t seem to be smarter than any other 14 year old girl in the rest of her scenes. And NERV directly attacking an angel isn’t exactly something I was begging to see, although your mileage might vary.
Shinji saving Asuka is hardly just a shipping moment. It's an important detail of the relationship between the two to understand when exploring how Shinji and Asuka interact with one another, because even if it's only mentioned twice, we need to know it happened and we get to see it happen. Asuka, the great Unit 02 pilot, getting saved by Shinji, who only got chosen because he was daddy's little boy? It serves to contextualize the relationship between the two not just for us, but for Asuka herself.

Well, I’d buy that if the moment actually was important. But it seems to be entirely forgotten about outside of a single line and a split-second frame. The moment is built up as if it will result in Asuka warming up to Shinji somewhat, but if anything Asuka only gets more upset with Shinji in later episodes.

I guess the problem isn’t “does Episode 10 introduce new stuff,” because of course it does. The problem is “does the new stuff in Episode 10 justify watching through all the creepy fanservice.” And in my opinion, when the episode features Asuka flaunting her breasts in a skimpy swimsuit, Asuka wearing a fat fetish plugsuit, and Misato fondling Asuka’s no-touch zones like some sort of bad porno while Shinji gets a boner, it’s hard for minor world building moments to justify rewatching it.

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Mr. Tines » Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:08 pm

View Original PostBusterMachine4 wrote:a skimpy swimsuit
A fairly conservative bikini. You make it sound like she'd been shopping at Wicked Weasel. Contrast the first episode of Prisma Ilya 2wei Herz.
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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Natalie the Cat » Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:14 pm

I legitimately forgot wicked weasel exists.

Anyway the college degree thing is meaningful, it’s not just random. Asuka was set up from childhood to see herself as a failure. I’m sure they threw all sorts of accolades on her to inflate her outward ego and feed her self loathing to make sure she would Get in the Fucking Robot.

She probably had a wall covered in perfect attendance certificates and talent show awards.

My headcanon is that the degree isn’t even real, they just told her she got one. She would have had to start her studies at no older than ten to actually get a degree, which is impossible. She never says what she studied, either.

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Mr. Tines » Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:25 pm

The degree thing fed into her laughing at Shinji's trivial physics homework (and thus doing the exposition necessary for the episode).

View Original PostNatalie the Cat wrote:She would have had to start her studies at no older than ten to actually get a degree


Such a thing is rare, but not unknown.
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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby EvaChero » Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:46 pm

I really enjoy ep 10 if for nothing else than the payoff of Asuka's heart armor getting a slight chink in it in the ending scenes
which may actually play into her increased criticism of Shinji.....she wants "more" and he is somewhat oblivious to the workings of the heart if not so much
some obvious flirting. I have to admit to being just as clueless about those kinds of things as the S-Meister. It would be hard for me to find a skippable
episode despite multiple viewings. Now E:DT I have no problem skipping....

As for the college degree....for all we know P2I universities, such as they are, may cut a lot of the filler courses getting peeps through the programs more
quickly to fill needs in a post apocalyptic world...but that's my own spur of the moment head-cheese.
who doesn't want to kick back with Misato and have a few beers?

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Nuclear Lunchbox » Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:27 am

View Original PostBusterMachine4 wrote:But it’s not like the things in Episode 10 only get mentioned once outside of it. That consistent behavior is preserved whether you watch the episode or not. Asuka and Rei’s rivalry is developed throughout the series, and Episode 10 doesn’t really introduce anything new to the formula. Misato’s scar might only be mentioned once if you cut the episode, but it’s hardly an important detail anyways.

The world establishment stuff in the episode isn’t really important either. Asuka graduating college may be part of her character, but it’s not an important part, and it doesn’t even really make sense for her character: it builds the expectation of Asuka being some sort of child prodigy, but she doesn’t seem to be smarter than any other 14 year old girl in the rest of her scenes. And NERV directly attacking an angel isn’t exactly something I was begging to see, although your mileage might vary.

[snip]

Well, I’d buy that if the moment actually was important. But it seems to be entirely forgotten about outside of a single line and a split-second frame. The moment is built up as if it will result in Asuka warming up to Shinji somewhat, but if anything Asuka only gets more upset with Shinji in later episodes.

I just can't agree with this. You're bouncing back and forth between elements of episode ten being unnecessary because they're mentioned again later and are therefore redundant, and other elements being unnecessary because they're never mentioned again and are therefore unimportant. Every episode spent with these characters is time spent developing our understanding of who they are, regardless of whether or not we personally think that aspect of their character is important.

Things aren't unimportant because they only happen once or because they happen in later episodes. Each episode of Evangelion builds on the ones that came before it, like an excellent jazz performance or a really good tasting menu. Things that only happen once are important because we never see them again. Things that happen again later are important because it shows us it's not just a one-off and grants the later moments a level of gravitas and sense of synchronicity we wouldn't otherwise have.

You seem to have briefly touched on why the moment of Shinji saving Asuka is so important (she only gets more upset with him later) but have disregarded it because you think it doesn't make narrative sense. I submit that it does, and we're watching the first cracks in Asuka's self-image appear. When Rei saves her later in the fight against Armisael, when she can't fight alone against Sahaquiel, these are all moments that taken individually are perhaps unimportant, but are woven together into the fabric of a larger story.

And as you say, Asuka and Rei's rivalry develops throughout the series-- episode 10 is a part of that rivalry, and it's a shame to cut it. Misato's scar is show, but I think it's hardly redundant, it heightens the payoff later when we learn where it really came from. Shinji not swimming gains a greater significance when we later learn he doesn't know how to swim. Rather than being an episode to skip, episode ten contains some great moments that serve to make the experience of watching each character interact with the others a richer experience than it would otherwise be if it were missing.

Does some of the fanservice make some people uncomfortable? Sure, I guess so. And if you want to skip episode 10 because you feel you've seen it already and don't feel like reliving any of the other character moments, that's absolutely your prerogative. However, I would be loath to dismiss the rest of the developments in episode 10 out of hand because of three fanservicey moments, which as you've named are a scene we can later link back to Asuka and Kaji's relationship, a sight gag that also provides a moment of Asuka speaking almost tenderly to Unit 02, and a hot spring scene that lightens up the atmosphere at the end of a tension-filled fight.

Certainly we can choose to not watch an episode out of personal preference, but episode 10 contains a lot of great material. I submit it isn't skippable, it just has some content that a handful of viewers fixate on as inappropriate.

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Kendrix » Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:38 am

In general I don't get this tendency to want to trim down any story to its bare minimum components or argue wether or not it's "necessary"


I get that there is such a thing as a stretch of a story that drags or badly allotted resources, but such cases aside, Isn't more of the content you like good? Don't we watch this stuff to enjoy it or feel feelings?

I mean it's a made up story with moving pictures. No part of it is "necessary". Unless you concede that art has intrinsic value, in that case, it's not just the plot parts that have value.

Maybe it's the overfocus on plot in the western scholarly tradition. I'd just point to the snyder DC movie or the live action Avatar as examples of films where a whole lot happens but they suck because plot events are not all that make a story good.

I guess when you look at a lot of older anime they tend to have elements reflective of an older viewing culture - seeing one episode every week. Hence why there would be more recaps, more episodic stories etc. compared to today when ppl binge stuff several times on the internet

As for episode 10: I feel that one suspiciously human-like shot of the angel embryo deserves a mention.
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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Nuclear Lunchbox » Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:48 am

A lot of the shows that came out in the 2000s that people who are in their 20s or 30s today watched had large chunks of filler that you could actually cut without missing much, or films that didn't need to be watched to appreciate the story (see: the entire Bount arc of Bleach and several of its movies).When rewatching shows like that, skipping the filler episodes is common, or even expected. However, I think Evangelion is a TV series that ostensibly doesn't have any filler. Even its recap episode only lasts for half the episode's runtime, and reveals new information such as the names of the angels.

Certainly there's a point to be made about episodic formats not handling binge-watching very well, but I don't think it applies to Evangelion, and I think you and I are in agreement that episode 10 is not to be skipped.

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby BusterMachine4 » Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:02 am

View Original PostKendrix wrote:In general I don't get this tendency to want to trim down any story to its bare minimum components or argue wether or not it's "necessary"


I get that there is such a thing as a stretch of a story that drags or badly allotted resources, but such cases aside, Isn't more of the content you like good? Don't we watch this stuff to enjoy it or feel feelings?

I mean it's a made up story with moving pictures. No part of it is "necessary". Unless you concede that art has intrinsic value, in that case, it's not just the plot parts that have value.

Maybe it's the overfocus on plot in the western scholarly tradition. I'd just point to the snyder DC movie or the live action Avatar as examples of films where a whole lot happens but they suck because plot events are not all that make a story good.

I don’t really think this argument makes sense. Eva might not be an example of this, but there are plenty of shows out there featuring content that has zero relevance at all and just drags the story down. Sticking to anime, two series infamous for this are Naruto with its endless stretches of anime-only story arcs that have zero relevance to anything, and Dragon Ball Z with its glacially slow pacing that got so bad they made a recut version with more than 40% of the runtime cut. I don’t think anyone would sincerely argue “you’ve GOT to watch Goku screaming as his hair slowly changes color for 10 minutes straight! Isn’t more of the stuff you like good?” And you blaming America for everything you don’t like is starting to get really weird.

But I guess that anime-first series like Eva tend not to have this problem anywhere near as much, and there is an argument to be made for every Eva episode bringing at least something new to the table. However, I must remind everyone that I’m really more arguing about whether the new things in Episode 10 are important enough to offset the creepy fanservice. So I feel like we should change the focus of the debate to be more about the fanservice instead. Because of that, here’s my argument about the three fanservice moments I mentioned:

1. I wasn’t referring to the moment with Kaji when I was talking about the bikini scene: I don’t feel like that part was supposed to be fanservice. However the part where Asuka flaunts her breasts in front of Shinji was definitely an example. Her getting focused about her breasts and talking about them getting larger felt like one of those “no real woman talks like this” moments that appear way too often in media, especially anime. And people argue that the scene was intended to be character building, not fanservice, but I say that the camera doing a creepy close-up of Asuka’s cleavage and the animators making Asuka’s breasts much larger than they are in other scenes are smoking guns showing that the scene was intended to sexualize.

2. I guess that the inflating plugsuit scene could have just been a sight gag, not fanservice. It’s just that being way too aware of the internet’s... less than savory parts has made me automatically assume that any scene of a woman suddenly looking overweight is intended to be fetish fuel.

3. Nuke said that the hot springs scene was intended to relieve tension after the battle, but I think “relieving tension” is often an overrated concept: it reminds me too much of Fullmetal Alchemist where every dramatic moment is ruined by a sudden scene of LSD fueled comedy, or the MCU where the main characters make quippy pop culture references as the world is being destroyed around them. If taken too far, relieving tension can destroy the tone of a scene, and I feel like the hot springs scene is an example of that. Misato fondles Asuka’s... intimate zones in a scene that feels like something out of a bad porno, while they have dialogue like “Your skin is so soft and smooth, Asuka” that succumbs even more to the “no real woman talks like this” syndrome. And then Shinji gets a boner. Who wanted to see that, exactly?

In a nutshell, I guess the thing that bugs me with Episode 10 is really more the creepy fanservice than the lack of important plot points. It’s hard for minor character moments to justify rewatching those scenes, in my opinion.

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby EvaChero » Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:46 am

Y'all will have to enlighten me on this a little and I concede that I am speaking from a position of utter ignorance....

Scenes like the Hot Springs, where dialogue or action might seem a little "off" to me, I had always assumed might be
from a difference in cultural viewpoint ergo it might be perfectly normal viewed in Japan but could be "dodgy" to
"western" eyes. So it doesn't impact me as much from a "non realistic " behavior point of view.

Is there any validity to this or am I just way off the beam?
who doesn't want to kick back with Misato and have a few beers?

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Kendrix » Fri Apr 23, 2021 11:08 am

I'd agree if it was like without context, but Asuka has like actual character reasons for acting in a teasing manner there (or what some teen's juvenile idea of 'teasing' behavior would be)

That's actually one of the more "justified" fanservice shots in the show 'cause it's clearly from Shinji's pov, showing that he is getting distracted by the cleavage. (compared to, say, shots where a person is alone in their room & the camera is still aimed at their butt for narrative reason - eva has plenty of those, too.)

I don't see anything about episode 10 specifically that would go beyond the average fanservice level of the action arc as a whole.

Though I don't think that all fanservice needs justification to not be a terrible crime.
It's a problem that various industries shoehorn it everywhere/that you can't find content without it (ie the default assumption that the customer is a heterosexual dude), & it's certainly a problem when its prioritized over, say, clothes that make sense or serve characterization/worldbuilding or real, living actresses are pressured into doing shit they're uncomfortable with or that could hurt their bones, but let's just throw out this puritanistic notion that you can't ever just put in a pretty image because it is pleasurable to look at without having some 3D chess big brain justification for why it's clearly not for pleasure.

And getting a boner is just an embarrassing part of growing up y'know? Shinji was certainly embarrassed by it. I daresay boys his age would probably find that relatable.
The teens in the audience would be thinking pervy thoughts anyways because that is what teens do. Looking at pictures is actually a healthy outlet for that compared to say, go out & actually boink before you're comfortable with it or mature enough to take care of the precautions.

Anyways, wasn't there a separate thread for this nonsense? Oh right here: thread/20299/Is-no-one-bothered-by-the-sexualization-of-the-characters-in-EVA/
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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby BusterMachine4 » Fri Apr 23, 2021 11:57 am

View Original PostKendrix wrote:I'd agree if it was like without context, but Asuka has like actual character reasons for acting in a teasing manner there (or what some teen's juvenile idea of 'teasing' behavior would be)

That's actually one of the more "justified" fanservice shots in the show 'cause it's clearly from Shinji's pov, showing that he is getting distracted by the cleavage. (compared to, say, shots where a person is alone in their room & the camera is still aimed at their butt for narrative reason - eva has plenty of those, too.)

I guess I just get instinctively disgusted whenever I see a fictional woman talking about their breasts for no apparent reason. It tends to be one of the main indicators of the "no real woman acts like this" syndrome I talked about earlier. It's weird in some of Anno's other work, too: remember the bath scene from Gunbuster where the Soviet lady talks about her breasts floating in space, or the whole "Mari's breasts are too big for the plugsuit" thing from Rebuild 2.0? I do admit that the Asuka bikini scene could potentially be justified, though.
Though I don't think that all fanservice needs justification to not be a terrible crime.
It's a problem that various industries shoehorn it everywhere/that you can't find content without it (ie the default assumption that the customer is a heterosexual dude), & it's certainly a problem when its prioritized over, say, clothes that make sense or serve characterization/worldbuilding or real, living actresses are pressured into doing shit they're uncomfortable with or that could hurt their bones, but let's just throw out this puritanistic notion that you can't ever just put in a pretty image because it is pleasurable to look at without having some 3D chess big brain justification for why it's clearly not for pleasure.

Well, I would buy the whole "it's fine to pleasure the audience, it's not sexist" thing more if the men in the series were sexualized too. But Eva, and way too many anime, really play off of the male gaze: the main ladies get a bunch of shots ogling their boobs and butt for no apparent reason, while the men pretty much never get that treatment. It's part of that "unconsciously assuming that the viewer is a straight man" thing you mentioned.
And getting a boner is just an embarrassing part of growing up y'know? Shinji was certainly embarrassed by it. I daresay boys his age would probably find that relatable.
The teens in the audience would be thinking pervy thoughts anyways because that is what teens do. Looking at pictures is actually a healthy outlet for that compared to say, go out & actually boink before you're comfortable with it or mature enough to take care of the precautions.

I feel like I have to clarify that the boner isn't the main thing I have a problem with, although it is weird. The main thing I have a problem with is the "bad porno" moment that immediately proceeds it. I mean, Misato apparently groping Asuka while Misato says "Your skin is so soft and smooth" and Asuka says "No, don't touch me there!" feels like the epitome of the "no real woman acts like that" syndrome. To answer EvaChero's question, contrary to what anime fans might think, randomly touching someone's breasts isn't a casual bonding exercise between women in real life Japan.

And I understand that it's better for teenagers to masturbate than it is for them to have underage sex. That's why porn exists. People should really stop trying to force porn into completely unrelated works in an attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
Anyways, wasn't there a separate thread for this nonsense? Oh right here: thread/20299/Is-no-one-bothered-by-the-sexualization-of-the-characters-in-EVA/
Keep the toxic sludge in its proper containers.

Come on, dude. Argue in good faith. You seem to have a serious problem with automatically taking any idea you disagree with as a personal offense. Just because you don't like someone's opinion doesn't mean it's "toxic sludge."

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Zusuchan » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:09 pm

BusterMachine4 wrote:
Well, I’d buy that if the moment actually was important. But it seems to be entirely forgotten about outside of a single line and a split-second frame. The moment is built up as if it will result in Asuka warming up to Shinji somewhat, but if anything Asuka only gets more upset with Shinji in later episodes.

So a scene showing Asuka having actual admiration for Shinji does not matter-despite Eva showing how Asuka continuously puts up a mask, has a complicated love-hate relationship with Shinji, needs to consider herself the absolute best since otherwise she thinks she doesn't matter, has a hard time genuinely accepting help etc-because... she gets more upset with him as her mental wellbeing gets worse? The point of that particular moment wasn't to hint at upcoming character development, it was to show a facet of Asuka that later on becomes a part of a larger fabric that shows Asuka's psyche.
I say that the camera doing a creepy close-up of Asuka’s cleavage and the animators making Asuka’s breasts much larger than they are in other scenes are smoking guns showing that the scene was intended to sexualize.

Of course it was intended to sexualize-the question that needs asking is whether or not the sexualization is necessary and adds to the show's themes or if it's most likely merely eye candy. IMO it adds, since it's from Shinji's POV and it shows both Asuka's need for validation and her actual feelings for Shinji being a bit more complex as well as adding to the show's horny vibes while also being an instance of Shinji once again not comprehending things.

The "fat" suit I would argue isn't really a fetish thing and is only problematic due to how the times have changed. I can respect your dislike of the hot springs scene, though there's nothing there that bothers me personally.
Kendrix wrote:
Though I don't think that all fanservice needs justification to not be a terrible crime.

Agreed-that doesn't mean one can't be bothered by pointless fanservice or say they dislike when fanservice is pointless. It's certainly not puritanism, it's a question of what one considers (un)necessary and how much what's unnecessary personally bothers them, except we're specifically talking about sexualization here. Edit: Also, seeing as BM4 considers ep.10 at least partly skippable due to the sexualization and so will some most likely some others, it's a relevant part of the discussion, as long as the discussion doesn't become entirely centered around questions of fanservice and sexualization.

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Kendrix » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:13 pm

I'm pretty sure she did not actually touch Asuka in any X rated places (but was definitely deliberately trolling Shinji to get a rise out of him, which while not advisable, is part of her character/ deliberately phrasing things so he'd get embarrassed by it)

I mean I know the sort of dialogue you're talking about/referring to but I don't think anything in EVA qualifies.

While the makers definitely had a choice in choosing what moments to depict/ situations to pick, so they definitely had a choice to bring this up, It's different when the characters have like actual in-universe reasons to be teasing/silly.

Basically the difference is that it's recognized that this is silly dialogue (they're trolling Shinji) & this is different from when this sort of thing appears out of nowhere like the author thinks ppl actually think/ talk like that unprompted (like, first person narrator mentions her boobs for some reason while walking towards the final battle or "its mysterious woman stuff~" as a serious answer)

Like both would probably be intended to have the side effect of titillating the answer but the former doesn't fail to give the characters internal logic the way the other does, if that makes sense?
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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby BusterMachine4 » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:22 pm

View Original PostKendrix wrote:I'm pretty sure she did not actually touch Asuka in any X rated places (but was definitely deliberately trolling Shinji to get a rise out of him, which while not advisable, is part of her character/ deliberately phrasing things so he'd get embarrassed by it)

I mean I know the sort of dialogue you're talking about/referring to but I don't think anything in EVA qualifies.

Wait, who was trying to get Shinji aroused? Misato or Asuka? I don't really think it makes sense either way, though. I mean, it was a spontaneous thing. Either one of those girls would have to have Emperor Palpatine levels of foresight to know that Shinji would end up hitting Asuka with a shampoo bottle. It seems like the dialogue in that scene is supposed to be genuine and spontaneous, which makes it really dumb how they decide to stoop to harem anime levels of "horny men writing women" syndrome.
View Original PostKendrix wrote:or "its mysterious woman stuff~" as a serious answer)

And Eva does that, too. :wink:

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby EvaChero » Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:21 pm

View Original PostKendrix wrote:I'm pretty sure she did not actually touch Asuka in any X rated places (but was definitely deliberately trolling Shinji to get a rise out of him, which while not advisable, is part of her character/ deliberately phrasing things so he'd get embarrassed by it)


hadn't thought of it that way but it makes sense....possibly even as the adult seeing the obvious attraction between A and S maybe its a clumsy
Misato way to encourage/play matchmaker...in a really weird and clumsy way mind you....
who doesn't want to kick back with Misato and have a few beers?

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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby Kendrix » Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:51 pm

I said nothing about playing matchmaker or anything ship goggle-ish or overly complicated like that.

Just that she's saying ridiculous/mildly inappropriate stuff to get him flustered/annoyed, simply cause she thinks it's funny.

if you were to put any further analysis into it it would be about her self-presentation as like cool, approachable, fun, sexy etc. for various backstory reasons, or how Shinji doesn't rely have the chill to just ignore it, but its mostly just Misato being a troll.
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Re: Is episode 7 skippable?

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Postby dzzthink » Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:56 pm

I think what is often overlooked is the storyline of Misato's growing suspicion of NERV, with parts of the series intended to be a mystery/thriller style. It is actually prevalent throughout the series, such as when ep 7, 10, 13, and 21. Basically, Nerv is up to something but I guess everyone kind of already knows that, and these episodes don't really add any tension to the final reveal. When you have someone like Gendo in charge and a confusing mix of Evas, angels, and Adams in the mix, I think the intended effect was lost in translation and you don't get to follow the Misato detective arc very well. I don't think there needs to be any trimming, but in the context of the series, it is hard to build any kind of excitement over Misato discovering the fact that NERV is evil and Adam is actually Lillith.
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