It's a question that's been on my mind for a while, especially after I read a tumblr post discussing their nature as foils. I wonder how the story would play out if Asuka was the Operations Director/Guardian figure while Misato was Unit 02's pilot?

I guess to to create a more concrete scenario, Kyoko managed to save Asuka during Second Impact but went insane from seeing Adam and hung herself believing her and the doll would die together leaving Asuka scarred, while Misato's father sacrificed himself in an Eva accident that left Misato haunted and equating her worth with sex. How different would the plot go? How do you see their dynamics with Shinji, Ritsuko or Kaji for example?

How would that work exactly? Would Misato be a teen and Asuka an adult? If so, I think that would change everything.
Asuka would probably be more mature and responsible with her emotions, while Misato would be the opposite. If they all kept living together, I imagine their house would be less messy. I can see Asuka being less laid back and more strict with the pilots. At the same time, she probably wouldn't have Misato's strategic vision, so expect actual missions to be more about brawn than brains. I can also see Asuka and Kaji having a thing, as well as Shinji and Misato nurturing feelings for each other (as weird as all of that sounds).
Anyway, without Misato to guide Shinji and Asuka to push him to the limit, it's hard to say what would happen, especially in EOE.

BernardoCairo wrote:How would that work exactly? Would Misato be a teen and Asuka an adult?

That was the idea I had in mind, sorry for not be clear enough.

Relax, it was a good idea. What did you think about it?

I like it, in particular I wanna zone in on this part:

BernardoCairo wrote: I can see Asuka being less laid back and more strict with the pilots.

This actually matters a lot more than you think. For example, if Shinji still went on to try to kiss Teen!Misato while she was sleep and Adult!Asuka found out about it, Adult!Asuka would either make it so one of the pilots moved out, or give Shinji a stern talking to about that decision. At least in this dynamic, Asuka would be way more critical of Shinji than Misato was in canon, which I can see affecting his character development and how his relationships with this Misato and others play out. Near the end stretch, since Asuka doesn't have the same attitude as Misato about sex she might still hold out as a connection to Shinji due to not coming onto him in Episode 23. Whether this keeps Asuka alive in EoE is unclear.

Teen!Misato is where I see things being more unpredictable.

That's interesting. I can totally see Asuka being harsh with Shinji and scolding him for the kiss in particular (if she ever found out about it, of course). Maybe this would have helped make Shinji a better person. It would all depend on how she approached the situation. Humiliation would not be the way to go.
Actually, now that I think about it, Shinji probably would have been a better pilot under her command in general. She would probably push him to his limits.

OneShotPunch wrote:Teen!Misato is where I see things being more unpredictable.

For me it's pretry clear she would have a massive crush on Shinji at least. And she would probably be a more competent pilot than Asuka. Maybe she wouldn't be as talented, but she would definitely control her emotions better. That said, I can imagine her still being an angry type of girl.

BernardoCairo wrote: Maybe this would have helped make Shinji a better person. It would all depend on how she approached the situation. Humiliation would not be the way to go.

I don't think an adult Asuka would resort to humiliation against Shinji, but she strikes me as sort of a sink or swim type of mentor. She'd put Shinji through his paces in training to ensure he doesn't die, and probably get him checked out for psychological problems that might hinder his piloting ability. She can't fight the Angels with deadweight after all. Downside is that this probably wouldn't help Shinji's opinion of being treated like a tool by NERV, but I figure for the series to continue there'd be some kind of bonding between the two after a point.

BernardoCairo wrote: For me it's pretry clear she would have a massive crush on Shinji at least. And she would probably be a more competent pilot than Asuka. Maybe she wouldn't be as talented, but she would definitely control her emotions better. That said, I can imagine her still being an angry type of girl.

Teen!Misato would probably be about as good as Asuka was. Her best asset is that she can come up with plans on the fly like in canon, which should come in handy in EoE if she got to fght the MP Evas. She might be able to spot their weakness. In terms of her relationships, I can see her being drawn to Kaji and later Shinji in part because they reminds her of her father. In that sense, her interactions with them would play out similarly to how it was Asuka. The key difference I would think is that Misato is less prideful than Asuka, which isn't necessarily a good thing. In canon, Misato saw herself as dirty and it colored her interactions with men as she felt sex was the best way to express her feelings. In a scenario where Shinji tried to kiss her while she was asleep, Misato would take it as confirmation he felt something for her and not take it seriously (which I want to be clear it absolutely is serious, I'm just talking about how she'd see it). A less mature Misato would be more pushy in her attempts to get Shinji to notice her and more open with how rejected she feels when he seemingly doesn't notice her advances. Assuming it happens in this version, I don't see her pretending to vomit after that kiss with Shinji in Episode 15 but actually telling him upfront she wanted him to kiss her, asking him if she wasn't good enough or something.

I take it we're not swapping their personalities, just their ages and positions, or there would be absolutely no difference. Anyway, Shinji wouldn't have to kiss teenage Misato in her sleep; she would drag him into bed and keep him there for a week like adult Misato did with Kaji. She would not drop subtle hints like teen Asuka for Shinji to miss. Responsible adult Asuka would have to scold both of them. Misato would just brush off the scolding.

I could see things going a lot different, like I don't think Asuka could/would want to work for Nerv. Therefor she wouldn't be the one going to get Shinji, which mean a different pedo would have to take the job. Or even Rei??? I don't know I'm just trying to have fun here. It'd certainly make for a good What If Machine episode of Eva.