Why "Eva" is still "extremely popular" among young people 26 years after its TV broadcast?

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Why "Eva" is still "extremely popular" among young people 26 years after its TV broadcast?

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Postby FelipeFritschF » Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:09 am

This is an article translated some time ago courtesy of our friend Riki: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rikki/why- ... -broadcast

It was published on Jan 29th, this year, by a Japanese psychiatrist. It's generally about the Rebuilds, but naturally has no Shin spoilers. If the mods think it should be moved to the NTE subforum, by all means go ahead.

The Evangelion that won't let go of the hearts of the young.
"EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO." will be aired on Friday Roadshow (a Movie Channel in Japan) on January 29th, but due to a corona disaster, the release of "EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME," which was scheduled for the 23rd, has been postponed yet again. This is due to the declaration of a state of emergency, but as a fan, I feel that this is typical of Eva, since it has been postponed so many times before.

"EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" will conclude the Eva series, which has taken 26 years to complete since the first TV broadcast of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" in 1995.Why is it that young people who have been watching the series since Rebuild of Evangelion have become so passionate about it? But what is it about Eva that has made it so beloved by fans for more than 20 years, and even by young people who have started watching "Rebuild of Evangelion"?

The secret behind this is that the characters in Eva also share the same communication problems that today's youth are struggling with.

Here, I would like to explain part of the appeal of Eva from the perspective of young people's mentality. I believe that the reason why Eva has been able to attract not only core fans but also ordinal viewers is because it deals with developmental issues that everyone goes through, especially adolescents.

The struggles of "14-year-olds".
Needless to say, the key to the story of Eva is the age of Shinji Ikari and the other pilots, 14 years old. According to Erikson, E.H., an American developmental psychologist, the psychological challenge for 14-year-olds is the "acquisition of ego-identity (establishment of identity)" and to know "who they are".

Until then, children lived according to the values given to them by their parents, but after that, they need to get a new set of original values. If this task is not accomplished, the child will be in a state of "ego identity diffusion," in which he or she is confused about his or her own role and does not know how to live, and social adjustment will not be successful.

Problematic behaviors, such as misbehavior, seen during this period are the cries of children who are unable to cope with a society that is more complex than their childhood. The pilots in Eva are children at this stage of development.

But is there such a thing as identity? Erikson, E.H., who proposed the concept of identity, was a Jew and came up with the idea of identity based on his belief that man, who is in covenant with the one and only God, must also be a one and only being. This concept is common not only in Judaism, but also in Christianity, Islam, and modern Japan.

Although its authenticity has been questioned in recent years, it can be interpreted that the characters in Eva have not yet established this identity and are therefore seeking an "established and true self".

Shinji Ikari is unexpectedly "sociable".
So what personality traits do the main characters of Eva possess? Using the so-called typology (a method of qualitatively classifying personalities into several categories), I will explain the personalities of Shinji Ikari and Shikinami Asuka Langley.

Of course, I have no direct experience of talking to them. I would like to point out that I am only describing one possibility based on what I have seen them say and do in the work.

First, let's look at the main character, Shinji Ikari, whose basic characteristic is sociability. It may come as a surprise to many, but Shinji is a sympathetic person, accustomed to "becoming one with his subject," accepting and imitating others as they are.

For example, in the ninth episode of the TV version, the two Evas had to synchronize their movements perfectly in order to destroy the separated form of Angel Thrafel. Shinji trains to synchronize his movements with Asuka's, and surprisingly, he does it without a problem. It was proof that he was good at watching his opponents and incorporating their movements into his own.

In the third episode of the TV version, there is a scene in which Ritsuko Akagi says, "Isn't that his way of life?". He stops making his own judgments and follows orders under the harsh conditions of fighting for humanity aboard an Eva.

Shinji, who aims to become "one with the object," is ideal for pilots who need to become one (synchronized) with the Eva.

Prior to "EVANGELION: 3.0 YOU CAN (NOT) REDO.", including the TV version, Shinji was a personality with a strong dependency tendency, seeking to "become one with the object" and sending messages to the people around him, asking them to become his stronghold.

In "3.0", however, the impression is somewhat different. Shinji is abandoned by Misato Katsuragi and Asuka Shikinami, who were his friends until "2.0", and when he is unable to "unite with the object", his sense of helplessness leads him to act impulsively.

If we were to understand these two personalities without contradiction, it would make sense to think of Shinji as having large internal waves. When he is able to integrate with his subject, he is "energetic" with a certain degree of sociability, but when there is a disconnect between him and his partner, he is "depressed". In any case, there is no doubt that he is strongly influenced by the person with whom he has a relationship.

Asuka doesn't let others in.
Next is Shikinami (Soryu) Asuka Langley, who looks down on others and reinforces the line between herself and others, keeping anyone at bay so that her fragile ego will not be harmed.

Asuka, who grew up rejected by her mother, lives her life driven by the need to be appreciated by someone. "I was chosen as an elite pilot to protect humanity.", "That's why everyone is so kind to me.", "I'm not lonely." and "Look at me!".

Asuka's reputation among her friends is a mess. "Arrogant, high-handed, cocky, eccentric, selfish, vain, cold-hearted, double personality, baumkuchen, heartless, self-conscious, bad girl, disgusting".

From this, we can see that Asuka is so afraid of getting hurt by getting deeply involved with others that she puts out her spines and hurts the people around her. Asuka keeps others away with her spiky attitude, but she is lonely when she is alone. That's why she treats Shinji like a Tsundere (hot and cold).

As such, she is exaggerated in her expression of emotions and makes a big deal out of the slightest thing, but in a very theatrical way. Because she hides her true self deep inside, there exists a sense of emptiness in her heart, like a baumkuchen, which probably leads to this kind of behavior.

Young people struggling with communication.
So far, I have briefly described the personality traits of Shinji and Asuka. Humans are originally born with a "temperament" defined by their genetic qualities, and their "personality" is formed through the involvement of various upbringing environments.

Personality is cultivated through a combination of temperament and character, but various traumatic events in the process can affect the personality and in some cases cause problems.

The pilots of Eva have their own difficulties in living. But they are not sick.

Although their personality traits appear to be contrasting, they have something in common. They both desperately need the approval of others, and have a strong desire for approval.

Although this is a higher-order need that is originally required after lower-order needs such as "life safety" have been satisfied, the people in the story seem to prioritize it above all else. This strong need for approval overlaps with that of today's youth.

Psychiatrist Tamaki Saito sees the personality traits of today's youth as a "disease of approval" and believes that they create the role of "character" in order to gain approval.

"Character" does not necessarily mean "personality." "Character" is a "role" that has nothing to do with essence, but rather indicates the coordinates of an individual's position in a relationship or group. (Tamaki Saito, "The Disease of Approval")

The "essence" here is the identity established in the person's inner self, while the character is only a relative coordinate that changes depending on the person with whom one associates. People of the character type described by Mr. Saito cannot always get along with others in the same way, and their relationships with others must be unstable.

In the human relationships of today's young people, the relationships that exist "between" people are considered to take priority over identity, which is the essence of the self. In other words, young people use "character A" or "character B" depending on the other person, which makes it difficult to see their true nature (identity) and makes it difficult to grasp.

Of course, adults also modify (tune) their communication methods somewhat to suit their target audience, but since the essence of each other is consistent, it is not too difficult to "empathize" with them and understand their essence.

On the other hand, a person who is a character type can be thought to be constructing a character as a compensation for failing to acquire ego identity, but I also feel that he or she is not concerned with identity in the first place. Because they themselves are as empty as a baumkuchen, those who are skilled at manipulating the relationships between them can build relationships without being concerned about identity, with the modern "magic wand" of "communicative power" in their hands.

In the past, young people who could not establish an identity would have some kind of reaction and would not be able to build relationships. Today, however, even such young people have gained communicative power, which enables them to get along well with others in closed spaces such as schools, and to be at the top of the school caste.

Shinji and Asuka have different personalities, but each is clumsy enough to be labeled "communicationally disabled".

Also, many of the young people who come to the outpatient clinic for adolescents, where I learned about Eva, have the same communication problems. They are suffering from a "phantom identity" that they don't have, and they think that they are overlapping themselves with the characters in Eva who have the same problems as they do.

Young people who cannot find their place in the world and are troubled empathize with the pilots of Evangelion, which is probably the reason why the series continues to attract enthusiastic young fans even after 26 years of broadcasting.

Hideaki Anno showed his acceptance of the absurdity of Godzilla in the post 3.11 film "Shin Godzilla".

Now that the world is covered with unprecedented absurdity and the relationship with others is changing drastically, what kind of ending does he have in mind for the final Eva film?

(Written by Koji Mizobe (Psychiatrist))


https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/03265 ... 890?page=1

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Re: Why "Eva" is still "extremely popular" among young people 26 years after its TV broadcast?

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Postby Zusuchan » Sun May 02, 2021 11:51 am

It's a fairly interesting write-up, but I feel it makes the mistake of not discussing Eva's widespread worldwide popularity among dozens of different people as at least partly a natural result of social alienation, anxiety, mental health issues and feelings of rootless chaos in the world in general. That's not to say the write-up is wrong in what it says and the writer isn't a sociologist or something of the like, after all, but I think Eva's real reasons for success is more due to the problems induced by this world of ours coupled with how easy it is to ignore its messages and its mecha/sci-fi trappings.


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