Newtype - popularity polls

Discussion of the new series of Evangelion movies ( "Evangelion Shin Gekijōban", meaning "Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition"). The final instalment made its debut in Japan on March 8, 2021.

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Axx°N N.
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Re: Newtype - popularity polls

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Postby Axx°N N. » Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:46 pm

I figured it was stating the obvious to say Mari is a controversial character, but I guess not, and anyway, this is a good opportunity to point out how much of a bubble EGF is. I've met 0 people irl who thought anything but that Mari served as a detriment to NTE's storytelling, barely registering as a character when compared to how central she is in cast promos (the Newtype cover being a prime example). I would be shocked to ever hear someone say "why was Rei there?" or "I feel like I don't know who Asuka is," but that's frequently what I hear regarding Mari. Even in absence of NTE's being a sequel and having NGE to compare it to, in a total theoretical vacuum where only NTE existed, Mari's presence is still lacking and then abruptly elevated. The popularity poll placements aren't a shocker whatsoever. And the Eva store placement, low as it is, is still probably ranked more in the context of the store--based purely on looks, I'm sure some would rather buy figures of her because they like her style or color scheme.

But I don't think people generally hate Mari, I think if anything she's just part and parcel to the management of her character that we can chalk up to the scriptwriting and however you feel about it. If anything my impression of Mari's general reception (from irl anecdotes, critic reviews, user reviews, other message boards, etc.) is apathy, and at that an apathy that vacillates between positive and negative.

Anyway, "Eva fans" is its own bubble, too, especially since NTE was aiming at including a more general audience. It's hard to determine what the exact demographics are in these polls and what drives the poll results. What would be way more interesting would be a more specialized kind of polling. What characters do people with history/attachment to NGE prefer in NTE, and what characters are less or more popular among those who only care about/saw NTE? That would be interesting to see.
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FelipeFritschF
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Re: Newtype - popularity polls

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Postby FelipeFritschF » Tue Sep 28, 2021 1:37 am

Indifference sums up my thoughts as well. I should say her rankings in Japan would also include fans of her very well known VA Maaya Sakamoto, in fact bringing her up was Tsurumaki and Sadamoto's idea after working with her in Diebuster. Potentially, considering the stated aim of her increasing commercial appeal, they even did this in order to attract those sorts of fans. You definitely have a good point regarding store rankings too.

I don't think even EGF seems to majorly pro-Mari or anything, it's just more open to examining her. Most other communities I'm in have a generally low opinion of her. I should say that her article jumped from 15th or so most viewed on the wiki to no no.1 after the initial March release and later on August 13th, and stayed there for more then a month. People kinda don't register her existence and can't even fathom what's up with her.

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Re: Newtype - popularity polls

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Postby Axx°N N. » Tue Sep 28, 2021 2:11 am

View Original PostFelipeFritschF wrote:I should say her rankings in Japan would also include fans of her very well known VA Maaya Sakamoto, in fact bringing her up was Tsurumaki and Sadamoto's idea after working with her in Diebuster. Potentially, considering the stated aim of her increasing commercial appeal, they even did this in order to attract those sorts of fans.

I always forget the huge fandoms certain VAs have in Japan. A month ago when I was reading through an online guide for the Ghost in the Shell PSX videogame, the writer opened with "I've never read or watched Ghost in the Shell, I played this because I'm a fan of Motoko's VA," a VA that only ever voiced her in said videogame.

Thinking "Mari" and then instantly thinking "Maaya Sakamoto" is definitely not the typical experience of the english speaking fan.
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